Clifford Chance

ISDS in the Asia-Pacific: A regional Snap-Shot

6 April 2016

The States of the Asia-Pacific are displaying a willingness to enter into trade and investment treaties that is, at present, unparalleled anywhere else in the world. A number of major bilateral and multilateral Free Trade Agreements have been announced in the past two years, and others are currently being negotiated. Even as public opinion has turned against Investment-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) in many countries, ISDS provisions remain key features of this new generation of Asia-Pacific trade and investment treaties. But governments are clearly taking note of what their constituents are saying: the new treaties of the Asia-Pacific increasingly contain provisions designed to protect state prerogatives in key areas, such as the protection of public health and the environment. This paper provides an overview of major treaty developments in the past two years, a summary of how economic conditions are impacting on relations between foreign investors and host states, and a brief survey of the main ISDS cases in the region.

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