Procedural Aspects of Investor-State Dispute Settlement: The Emergence of a European Approach?

Chapters on investor-State dispute settlement (isds) are among the controversial sections of international investment agreements. The chapter situates the evolving approach of the European Union (eu) to isds, and it does so in two steps: (i) It assesses the impact of the main eu actors on the formation of the eu’s investment policy and comments on the current backlash against investment arbitration, which has led the European Commission to engage in a public consultation. (ii) Against that background, the article provides a roadmap through the details of isds draft provisions put forward by eu actors. Its focus is on procedural aspects of dispute resolution (notafbly attempts to curtail options for parallel proceedings and certain types of claims) and on the question of consistency (which continues to prompt debate among treaty-makers).