Trade Agreements: Dispute Resolution

(asked on 15th October 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps she is taking to ensure that high ethical standards for arbitrators are secured as integral features of Investor-State Dispute Settlement mechanisms in future trade agreements; and if she will make a statement.


Answered by
Ranil Jayawardena Portrait
Ranil Jayawardena
This question was answered on 23rd October 2020

The United Kingdom supports recent trends in Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions that seek high ethical standards for arbitrators.

Arbitrators are bound by rules governing conflicts of interest and other ethical issues, such as impartiality. These can be set in trade agreements themselves, through the International Bar Association Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest in International Arbitration, and through the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes Convention.

Should ISDS be included in a future trade agreement, the United Kingdom supports a modernised mechanism that takes account of this international best practice.

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