Investor Presentaiton
13
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) is a regular feature of
international investment agreements (IIAs). The existing body
of treaties and arbitral decisions, both of which have grown
considerably over the past years, provides ample material for
analysing countries' approaches to ISDS across different IIAS
and the application of the relevant rules in arbitral practice.
By creating a system for the settlement of disputes
between investors and host governments, countries had sought
to create a neutral forum that offers the possibility of a fair
hearing before a tribunal unencumbered by domestic political
considerations. In addition to serving as a de-politicized forum
for resolving disputes, international arbitration was expected
to offer other advantages such as potentially swifter, cheaper,
and more flexible than other dispute settlement mechanisms.
In addition, arbitral awards are readily enforceable in most
jurisdictions under international treaties.
In practice, however, the actual functioning of ISDS under
IIAS has led to concerns about systemic deficiencies in the
regime. Most disputes in ISDS are not mere commercial
disputes, but involve issues of public policy as measures
challenged by investors increasingly involve matters such as
environmental protection, public health, or other issues of
public governance. Decisions on these matters are taken by
arbitral tribunals convened on an ad hoc basis and many
question the qualifications of the arbitrators and the propriety
of their deciding what are essentially issues of public policy.
Although ISDS has become more transparent over the years,
not all awards are made public and the existence of
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