Article: Gold Rushes, Trade Agreements, and How Companies Sue Countries
source: http://www.wiserearth.org/article/9aa7e6e76acac288179fcdc8f0c117f2/new/1/group/GrandPlan
A year or so ago I met an attorney on a plane who explained to me that his was a very niche practice. He explained what he did as “defending companies whose operations were being threatened by governments,” and cited examples of oil companies that had been drilling in Venezuela when Chavez came in and restructured resource rights. “Obviously the Venezuelan courts are going to back Chavez, so these companies need an objective third party to review their grievances.”
That’s where the World Bank comes in. More specifically, the World Bank investment court, called the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). “And companies need someone familiar with that process to help them navigate it,” my flight-mate explained, “because it’s really a different ballgame altogether.”
Indeed. Recently, the ICSID and the proceedings it oversees have come under fire. Arbitration tribunals at the ICSID have historically been closed, with labor and environmental activists often criticizing this lack of transparency. The right of the ICSID to decide issues between countries and companies has also been called into question. The practice gained popularity and participants via free trade agreements and bi-lateral investment treaties in which developed countries would require developing countries to agree to have disputes handled by the ICSID.
That’s where the World Bank comes in. More specifically, the World Bank investment court, called the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). “And companies need someone familiar with that process to help them navigate it,” my flight-mate explained, “because it’s really a different ballgame altogether.”
Indeed. Recently, the ICSID and the proceedings it oversees have come under fire. Arbitration tribunals at the ICSID have historically been closed, with labor and environmental activists often criticizing this lack of transparency. The right of the ICSID to decide issues between countries and companies has also been called into question. The practice gained popularity and participants via free trade agreements and bi-lateral investment treaties in which developed countries would require developing countries to agree to have disputes handled by the ICSID.
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- World Bank, Trade, Companies, World Trade
