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Socialising losses, privatising gains

How Dutch investment treaties harm the public interest

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Publication
Written by:
Written by: Roos van Os
Written by: R. Knottnerus
Written by: P. Vervest
Written by: Hilde van der Pas
Published on:

Over the past two decades a complex web of more than 3,200 investment agreements has developed globally, mostly in the form of Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs). These treaties grant investors far-reaching rights, limiting state control over transnational capital and constraining governments’ policymaking space.

A key provision in many of the investment agreements is a controversial mechanism that allows corporations to sue governments in private international arbitration tribunals outside the regular national court system. Investors’ claims through ‘investor-state dispute settlements’ (ISDS) have skyrocketed by more than 400% since the early 1990s. This paper gives a critical civil society perspective on the clear tension between BITs protections and the democratic right and duty of the state to regulate in the broader public interest.

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Publication

Posted in category:
Publication
Written by:
Written by: Roos van Os
Written by: R. Knottnerus
Written by: P. Vervest
Written by: Hilde van der Pas
Published on:

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