Brussels, 07/01/2016 (Agence Europe) - The EU is to contribute €100,000 to finance a publicly accessible register of documents related to international investor-to-state dispute settlement (ISDS) cases and decisions of ISDS tribunals, the European Commission announced on Wednesday 6 January. The register supports the implementation of the ISDS transparency rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL).
“Transparency is at the core of the European investment policy. For that reason, the EU has been in the driving seat as regards development and adoption of the UNCITRAL international transparency standards, in addition to the reform of the EU's own approach to investment disputes”, the Commission said.
“Publicising the documents and opening the hearings of the ISDS tribunals to civil society organisations increases their legitimacy and accountability. The availability of information also brings consistency between awards and predictability necessary for investors, stakeholders, states and investment tribunals. The EU financial support to the public register contributes to these objectives”, it added.
The EU incorporates UNCITRAL transparency standards into all its trade and investment agreements under negotiation, the Commission further notes.
The UNCITRAL transparency rules, adopted in July 2013, apply to all investment treaties concluded after 1 April 2014 using the UNCITRAL arbitration rules.
The progressive ratification of the UN convention on the transparency of ISDS clauses, known as the Mauritius Convention, which was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 10 December 2014 and signed at Port Louis, Mauritius in March 2015, would extend applicability of the new UNCITRAL rules to 3,000 existing investment agreements worldwide before these new rules come into effect.
For the EU, accession to the Mauritius Convention would mean that UNCITRAL rules would apply to the 1,400 investment treaties concluded by member states before the Lisbon Treaty came into force and to the Energy Charter to which the EU has belonged since 1998.
The reformed EU approach on investment protection and ISDS is based on the creation of a special investment court in the free-trade agreement currently under negotiation between the EU and the United States (TTIP), which seeks to replace the ISDS mechanism in any future negotiations on investment between the EU and a third country or regional bloc. The EU is also looking to work with other countries on setting up a permanent international investment court (see EUROPE 11390). (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)