Since 2001, ITN has offered news, analysis, and opinions on international investment law and its implications for sustainable development.
In January 2026, the OECD released updated Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct, introducing new expectations on climate-risk disclosure, human rights impact assessments, and expanded environmental supply-chain due diligence.
A new tribunal has been constituted for the resubmission of the long-running Rockhopper v. Italy ECT dispute over Italy’s ban on offshore hydrocarbon extraction, with former ICSID Secretary-General Meg Kinnear appointed as chair.
The recently signed the Canada–UAE BIT includes notable innovations: an expedited arbitration procedure for small claims, mandatory third-party funding disclosure requirements, and a code of conduct for arbitrators.
In early 2026, AfCFTA member states began systematic Regulatory Audits to align their domestic investment frameworks with the AfCFTA Protocol on Investment (adopted in 2023).
On March 9, 2026, Ecuador’s Constitutional Court ruled that the UAE-Ecuador BIT—concluded by executive decree—cannot be fast-tracked and requires National Assembly approval because it contains ISDS clauses.
On March 5, 2026, the CETA Joint Committee adopted a binding Joint Interpretation clarifying that non-discriminatory measures taken to protect the environment or combat climate change do not constitute a breach of Article 8.10 (Fair and Equitable Treatment) or Annex 8-A (Indirect Expropriation) of CETA.
In March 2026, Prime Ministers Mark Carney and Narendra Modi formally relaunched negotiations in New Delhi for a modernised investment chapter to replace the terminated Canada-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.
In early 2026, UNCITRAL Working Group III held its 53rd and 54th sessions.
CK Hutchison’s subsidiary, Panama Ports Company (PPC), has initiated an ICC arbitration seeking USD 2 billion after Panama’s Supreme Court declared its port concessions at the Balboa and Cristóbal terminals unconstitutional.
On March 6, 2026, President Nasry Asfura signed the ICSID Convention on behalf of Honduras, reversing the country’s 2024 withdrawal by the previous administration.
On January 30, 2026, the European Commission launched infringement proceedings against 16 EU Member States that remain parties to the ECT.
Igor Makarov, a billionaire holding Moldovan and Cypriot nationality, has filed a USD 350 million ICSID claim against Canada under the Canada–Moldova BIT.
Despite an ongoing pending contract-based arbitration, Shell and ExxonMobil have initiated ICSID arbitration (Cases ARB/26/2 and ARB/24/44) against the Netherlands under the ECT.
On March 16, 2026, Iceland formally notified its withdrawal from the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), citing the need to align its international obligations with its 2030 climate-neutrality goals.
The United Kingdom is facing its first-ever ISDS claim.
Rockhopper Exploration plc, a UK-based oil and gas company with interests in the North Falkland Basin, has triggered its annulment insurance policy and launched a new ICSID arbitration against the Italian Republic under the Energy Charter Treaty, following the annulment of a controversial 2022 ICSID award regarding offshore drilling restrictions.
Groups of Credit Suisse Additional Tier 1 (AT1) bondholders have initiated two investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) claims against Switzerland.
The Commercial Court of Ireland, presided over by Ms. Justice Eileen Roberts, refused to enforce a US court judgment ordering Argentina to pay approximately US$17.5 billion (including interest) for the 2012 expropriation of an Argentinian company, YPF S.A.
ICSID’s caseload statistics for the 2025 fiscal year show a record level of investor-state arbitration proceedings, with 347 cases administered, the highest in its history, and 67 new cases registered, drawing on bilateral investment treaties (45%), other international treaties (27%), contracts (21%), and domestic investment laws (7%).
A U.S. District Court in Washington, DC has ruled that an intra-EU arbitral award set aside in Sweden cannot be enforced in the United States, affirming that annulled awards face significant hurdles.
UNCITRAL has invited governments to submit proposals to host the Advisory Centre on International Investment Dispute Resolution by 20 October 2025.
The U.S. Supreme Court has formally requested the US government’s opinion in a case involving Spain and European solar investors.
China and Russia signed an updated bilateral investment treaty (BIT) on 8 May 2025, replacing the 2006 BIT.
Canada and Indonesia have concluded a new Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), establishing an updated framework for trade and investment relations between both countries.
UNIDROIT and the ICC Institute of World Business Law convened the 7th session of their Working Group on International Investment Contracts from 27 to 29 October 2025 in Rome, continuing efforts to draft an instrument for investment contracts.
The OECD Sustainable Investment Days 2025, held in November 2025, brought together governments, investment promotion agencies, private investors, and civil society actors to review global investment policies and explore how foreign investment can promote sustainable development.
The 9th intersessional meeting of UNCITRAL Working Group III on investor–state dispute settlement (ISDS) reform was held in Santiago, Chile, from 5 to 7 November 2025, bringing together government representatives, legal practitioners, and stakeholders to discuss key procedural and substantive reforms to ISDS regime, including IISD experts.
The 9th World Investment Forum (WIF 2026) will be hosted by Qatar in 2026, following the announcement at the 16th United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in Geneva.
UNCTAD’s Multi-Stakeholder Platform on International Investment Agreement (IIA) Reform held its 3rd session on 30 September 2025, bringing together about 60 participants from governments, international organisations, civil society, academia, and the private sector to review the draft Guiding Principles for IIA Reform.
The Government of India announced earlier this year that it plans to overhaul its Model Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT), signalling a shift toward a more investor-friendly framework aimed at boosting foreign direct investment and restoring confidence in its treaty regime.
At the December 2025 summit of the Council of the EU, concerns over potential investment arbitration claims under the 1989 Belgium-Luxembourg-USSR BIT were among the factors that contributed to the decision not to use immobilized Russian Central Bank assets held at Euroclear as collateral for a loan to Ukraine—EU leaders ultimately opted for a €90 billion loan backed by common EU borrowing secured against the EU budget instead.
A new civil society report emphasizes that the surge in sanctions-related investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) claims has accelerated dramatically.
On May 8, 2025, China and Russia reportedly signed a revised bilateral investment treaty, replacing their existing 2006 bilateral investment treaty.
On April 22, 2025, the Amsterdam Court of Appeal (Gerechtshof Amsterdam) issued a landmark ruling ordering a Dutch investor to terminate an ongoing intra-EU arbitration against Poland on the basis that it violates EU law.
On May 22, 2025, the Council of the European Union formally adopted the United Nations Convention on Transparency in Treaty-based Investor-State Arbitration (the Mauritius Convention), marking a significant step toward promoting public accountability in investor–state arbitration.
On September 27, 2024, India and Uzbekistan signed a new bilateral investment treaty, which came into force in May 2025.
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued a landmark advisory opinion linking climate obligations with the reform of ISDS.
On July 23, 2025, the International Court of Justice issued a landmark advisory opinion affirming that states have binding obligations under international law to combat climate change.
Although the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) does not include ISDS in its investment chapter, its member states are actively debating whether to include ISDS within the bloc’s legal framework.
On June 3, 2025, Switzerland and Chile concluded a new bilateral investment treaty aimed at reinforcing protections for Swiss investors operating in Chile and vice versa.
The UK Civil Justice Council has released its long-awaited final report on litigation funding, following years of debate on the role of third-party funding in the civil justice system.
UNCITRAL has adopted a new toolkit designed to help states mitigate and prevent investor–state disputes.
UNCTAD has launched a new global database dedicated to investment facilitation.
The UNCTAD secretariat has announced that it will host the 16th session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD16) in Geneva in October 2025.
Following the successful 16th Investment Policy Forum in Manila in October 2024, IISD published the so-called IPF Manila Tool Kit: A practical tool to enhance horizontal coherence across policy areas.
The under-the-radar UNIDROIT-ICC Working Group on International Investment Contracts held another meeting in April in Paris, moving towards a master copy of the Draft Instrument.
On March 31, the three international organizations held a joint investment treaty conference in Paris.
UNCITRAL Working Group III (WGIII) on Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) Reform continued its work with two sessions in the first quarter of 2025.
Several ECT contracting states have opted out of the provisional application of the reform of the treaty despite actively negotiating the reform for years and voting in favor of adoption at the Energy Charter Conference in December 2024.
Strabag and its co-claimants, Erste and Zweite Nordsee-Offshore Holding, have filed a petition in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to enforce a €240 million ICSID award against Germany—the first ICSID award ever issued against Germany and, notably, the first intra-EU award under the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) against the state.
