UNCTAD has updated its Investment Dispute Settlement Navigator. The ISDS Navigator is now up-to-date as of 31 December 2017.

Key findings of the update:

• In 2017, investors brought at least 65 ISDS arbitrations pursuant to international investment agreements (IIAs).
• With new information received, the number of known cases for 2016 was adjusted to 75. Additional cases have also surfaced that were initiated in 2015, with a current total of 80 known cases for that year.
• As of 31 December 2017, the total number of known arbitrations against host countries based on IIAs has reached 855.

Newly filed ISDS cases:

• The 65 known ISDS cases commenced in 2017 were brought against 49 economies. Croatia and Spain were the most frequent respondents, with four and three cases each. Five economies – Bahrain, Benin, Iraq, Kuwait and Taiwan Province of China – faced their first (known) ISDS claim.
• Intra-EU disputes accounted for about one-fifth of investment arbitrations initiated in 2017. The overall number of known intra-EU investment arbitrations (initiated by an investor from one EU member State against another member State) totalled 168 by the end of 2017.

The update of the ISDS Navigator covers new cases as well as new information on existing case entries. You can browse the ISDS Navigator to find information on: the subject matter, the status/outcome of the arbitral proceedings, awards and decisions issued by tribunals, breaches of IIA provisions alleged and found, amounts claimed and awarded, arbitrators serving on the tribunal, and other aspects of the disputes.

UNCTAD will continue monitoring the latest developments with regard to investment dispute settlement reform, such as in the context of the EU, ICSID, NAFTA and UNCITRAL, which will have far-reaching impact on future ISDS cases. For further information, we invite you to read our 2018 World Investment Report (WIR), scheduled for launch in June 2018.