EU finalises proposal for investment protection and Investment Court System for TTIP

The EU has formally presented to the US its proposal for a reformed approach on investment protection and a new and more transparent system for resolving disputes between investors and states – the Investment Court System. On this occasion, EU Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström commented: “Today marks the end of a long internal process in the EU to develop a modern approach on investment protection and dispute resolution for TTIP and beyond. This is the result of far-reaching consultations and debate with Member States, the European Parliament, stakeholders and citizens.  This approach will allow the EU to take a global role on the path of reform, to create an international court based on public trust.” The final text includes all the key elements of the Commission’s proposal of 16 September, which aims at safeguarding the right to regulate and creating a court-like system with an appeal mechanism based on clearly defined rules, with qualified judges and transparent proceedings. The proposal also includes additional improvements on access to the new system by small and medium sized companies. The new system would replace the existing investor-to-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism in TTIP and in all ongoing and future EU trade and investment negotiations. A full press release and memo are available online. The blog post by Commissioner Malmström on the proposal for a reformed approach is online here.