UNCTAD has updated its Investment Dispute Settlement Navigator. The ISDS Navigator is now up-to-date as of 31 July 2018.

Key findings of the update:

• During the first 7 months of 2018, investors brought at least 37 known investor-State dispute settlement (ISDS) cases pursuant to international investment agreements (IIAs).
• On the basis of newly revealed information, the number of known cases for 2017 was adjusted to 72. Additional cases have also surfaced for previous years.
• As of 31 July 2018, the total number of known treaty-based ISDS arbitrations has reached 904.

Newly filed ISDS cases:

• The 37 known ISDS cases recorded by the end of July 2018 were brought against 27 economies. Based on the available data, Colombia was the most frequent respondent with six known cases filed, followed by Belarus with three cases. The cases against Belarus are the first known in the country’s history.
• Investors from the United States and Canada initiated the most cases with 7 and 4 cases each.
• All but three of the new cases are based on “old-generation” treaties concluded before 2010. This points to the importance of reforming the existing stock of old treaties, one of the themes discussed during the 2018 High-level IIA Conference, that took place during UNCTAD's World Investment Forum in Geneva in October.

Information about the claims has been compiled on the basis of public sources and specialized reporting services. As some arbitrations can be kept fully confidential, the actual number of disputes filed in this and previous years is likely to be higher.

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, and arbitrators serving on the tribunal.

Known treaty-based investor-State arbitrations initiated in the first 7 months of 2018 (as of 31/07/2018)