Imagine an environmentally or socially destructive corporate project – say, a toxic mine, which could poison your local supply of water, or a luxury real estate project, which would displace hundreds of people in its neighbourhood. You and your community oppose the plans, the courts judge in your favour and the project is stopped. Seems like a community victory right? But then, the company behind the project sues your country for interfering with its profits, demanding millions or even billions in compensation, including for future profits. Actually, you do not need to imagine all this. It is the reality. The ISDS parallel justice system for big business is again and again used as a corporate weapon against the public interest. In a new report by Friends of the Earth Europe and International, the Transnational Institute (TNI) and Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO), the organizations present 10 recent cases from around the world that show how the red carpet courts continue to thrive and reinforce injustice across the world.
August 8, 2018 | CEO et al.
Red carpet courts: 10 stories of how the rich and powerful hijacked justice
Imagine an environmentally or socially destructive corporate project – say, a toxic mine, which could poison your local supply of water, or a luxury real estate project, which would displace hundreds of people in its neighbourhood. You and your community oppose the plans, the courts judge in your favour and the project is stopped. Seems like a community victory right? But then, the company behind the project sues your country for interfering with its profits, demanding millions or even billions in compensation, including for future profits.
Actually, you do not need to imagine all this. It is the reality. Under the ISDS (investor-state dispute settlement) parallel justice system for corporations and the rich, companies can sue countries when they think that government decisions or court rulings – even ones whose explicit aim is to protect people or the environment – affect their profits. These lawsuits bypass domestic courts and take place before an international tribunal of arbitrators: essentially three investment lawyers who decide whether private profits or public interests are more important.
