Resources
Setting the Record Straight: Debunking Ten Common Defenses of Controversial Investor-State Corporate Privileges
| ISDS
Public Citizen
In order to counter the increased critiques of the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) system, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has declared that many of the claims are “myths” but these counter-claims rely on false and misleading information. This document describ...
A Losing Proposition: The Failure of Canadian ISDS Policy at Home and Abroad
Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood
There has been a debate over Investor-State Dispute Systems (ISDS), a process for resolving settlement disputes between foreign investors and national governments. Many people argue that ISDS is used to challenge actions taken by the state to protect the environment, pub...
Case Studies: Investor-State Attacks on Public Interest Policies
| ISDS
Public Citizen
The investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) system shifts the power between the government and corporations, prioritizing corporate rights. Foreign corporations have used ISDS to attack various policies, in cases ranging from tobacco to mining. This report discusses a selection o...
Myths and Omissions: Unpacking Obama Administration Defenses of Investor-State Corporate Privileges
Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch
Investor-state dispute settlement system empowers foreign corporations to bypass domestic courts, challenge government’s public interest policies before extrajudicial tribunals and demand compensation. There is increased opposition to the expansion of ISDS thr...
Best Practices Indirect Expropriation
| ISDS
By Suzy H. Nikiema, March 2012
This paper investigates indirect expropriation in international investment law. Indirect expropriation is when the State acts in a way that is detrimental to foreign private investment, even when it is not directly targeted at an investment. The definition of indir...
CAFTA Investor Rights Undermining Democracy and the Environment: Commerce Group Case
| ISDS
Public Citizen Global Trade Watch
The Commerce Group Corporation attacked El Salvador’s environmental policies under the CAFTA when the company’s environmental permits for gold mining in Northeastern El Salvador were revoked. In 2010, the company pushed a claim of compensation from the country. ...
Informe Especial sobre el Proyecto Minero “Cerro Blanco” y las Potenciales Vulneraciones a Derechos Humanos en la Población Salvadoreña
Oscar Humberto Luna
The Cerro Blanco mining project in Guatemala is a threat to El Salvador’s water quality and quantity. This report describes possible human rights violations that may impact the Salvadoran population due to the Cerro Blanco mining project.
http://www.caritaselsalvador.org.sv/...
CAFTA Investor Rights Undermining Democracy and the Environment: Pacific Rim Mining Case
Public Citizen
Pacific Rim Mining Corp. is a Canadian-based firm attempted to establish a gold mine in the River Lempa basin, El Salvador’s largest river. This generated a large debate about the health and environmental consequences of mining in El Salvador, an already water-stressed country, an...