Press Release

EU law experts: investor privileges in TTIP/CETA threaten rule of law

17/10/2016

101 professors of law from 24 European countries have signed a joint statement asking European decision makers to exclude controversial legal instruments from TTIP and CETA. Their top concern is the provision of special privileges for foreign investors (ICS/ISDS).

“The investment protection systems in TTIP and CETA pose an unnecessary, and grave, threat to democracy and the public interest.” states Professor Nico Krisch from the Graduate Institute Geneva.

Investment protection and investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanisms are amongst the most contentious aspects of TTIP and CETA. They give foreign investors the right to sue the EU or Member States in private tribunals over potential losses in profit due to public welfare regulations. After much public criticism, a new investor protection system called Investment Court System (ICS),   was proposed for CETA. However, law experts conclude that the vague terminology of ICS would still provide causes for concern.

“The tribunal system included in CETA, and proposed for TTIP, is better than the arbitration provided for in many other investment treaties, but it does not eliminate the risk of an excessively broad interpretation of investor rights,” says Professor Krisch.

Some members of the European Parliament and other EU institutions are now seeking an opinion from the European Court of Justice as to whether the CETA investment chapter is at all compatible with the Treaties. On the 18th of October in a Council meeting, EU trade ministers will decide whether to endorse CETA. If they do, CETA will proceed to the European Parliament with a vote scheduled in December-January.

“101 law professors from across Europe have come together to demand that these mechanisms be excluded from CETA and TTIP. This is a clear message from legal experts,” explains Dr. Michael Efler, member of the steering committee of Stop TTIP.

The drafting process of the statement has been coordinated by the Stop TTIP European Initiative which gathered over 3.5 million signatures against TTIP and CETA. It is available in English, German, French, Italian and Spanish.

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For more information please contact Matthew Read at Stop TTIP  via press@stop-ttip.org or +49 30 28482-379 and +49 01525 600-7192