Abstract

CHARRIS-BENEDETTI, Juan Pablo. The proposed Investment Court System: does it really solve the problems?. Rev. Derecho Estado [online]. 2019, n.42, pp.83-115. ISSN 0122-9893.  https://doi.org/10.18601/01229893.n42.04.

In recent years, the foreign investment regime has been subject to an increasing volume of criticism from the public. The significant sums of money at stake and the potential impact of the awards on State's regulatory powers have placed the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) under the spotlight. In response to this, the European Union has proposed a far-reaching reform which introduces an Investment Court System (ICS). This model constitutes an innovative dispute settlement mechanism intended to address most of the core issues of the ISDS by combining elements of the traditional ISDS with judicial features. Overall, this paper aims at analysing whether the EU's new approach constitutes an effective improvement to the traditional ISDS and the future of the international investment regime. To achieve this, the study begins with an overview of the current ISDS; followed by a synopsis of the main criticisms to the traditional ISDS; proceeded by a review of the core features of the EU's proposed ICS and its inclusion in the new generation of HAS in negotiation by the EU; and finally, provides a commentary of the main criticisms and obstacles that the introduction of the ICS is likely to encounter.

Keywords : Investment Court System (ICS); Investor-State Disputes Settlement (ISDS); Foreign Direct Investment (FDI); International Investment Agreement (IIA); Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA); Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

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