"Today, foreign corporations, or the oligarchs who own them, can sue governments for the laws they pass, at offshore tribunals composed of corporate lawyers. The cases are held in secret. Unlike our courts, these tribunals allow no right of appeal or judicial review. You or I cannot take a case to them, nor can our government, or even businesses based in this country. They are open only to corporations based overseas."
"If a tribunal determines that a law or policy may compromise the corporation's projected profits, it can award damages of hundreds of millions, even billions. These sums represent not actual losses, but money the arbitrators decide the company might otherwise have made. The government may have to abandon its policy. It will be discouraged from passing future laws along the same lines, for fear of being sued."
Investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) permits foreign corporations or their owners to sue governments over laws and policies before offshore tribunals staffed by corporate lawyers. These tribunals operate in secret, allow no right of appeal or judicial review, and are accessible only to overseas corporations. Arbitrators can award damages calculated from projected profits rather than actual losses, potentially amounting to hundreds of millions or billions. Governments may abandon or avoid policies to escape liability, creating a chilling effect on regulation. Record numbers of cases are emerging, often financed by hedge funds, and ISDS clauses are frequently inserted into trade treaties without public consent. A high-court ruling recently led to withdrawal of permission for a proposed deep coal mine.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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