Environmental law group Client Earth has set out its demands for an overhaul of the UK International State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism for a future EU-UK trade deal. The current mechanism applied (in all EU trade agreements concluded post-2000) is described as the “most illegitimate dispute settlement mechanism in international law” (Professor Alessandra Arcuri), and is often used as a threat against regulation. Professor Arcuri and Friends of the Earth campaigner, Lora Verheecke, suggested that any form of EU-UK ISDS should take into account the need to provide better guarantees to communities’ rights, as well as a series of obligations and legal responsibilities for investors.
Recording of “Brexit and the environment: What’s next” event
Client Earth report on ISDS
Stefan Scheuer