The EU makes proposals to advance the UN reform process of international investment-related disputes

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The EU and its Member States submitted last Friday two proposals to the UN Working Group under the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) tasked with examining reform of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS).

The proposals by the EU and its Member States, as well as proposals submitted by other countries, will be discussed at the next meeting of the Working Group from 1 to 5 April 2019 that has been convening since November 2017. The first EU paper sets out the EU’s proposal of establishing a permanent multilateral investment court with an appeal mechanism and full-time adjudicators. The EU views this as the only reform option that can effectively respond to all the concerns identified in this UN process. It would enhance the predictability and consistency of decisions and ensure their correctness, eliminate the ethical concerns of the current system, and effectively address the problems of excessive costs and duration. The second paper makes proposals for an effective work plan so that the Working Group develops concrete solutions and text proposals to be adopted by the UNCITRAL Commission and ultimately the UN General Assembly. The reports of the meetings of the Working Group are available on the UNCITRAL website.

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