Trade Agreements: Dispute Resolution

(asked on 20th July 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 17 July 2020 to Question 73000, whether the Government will enact the right it retains to regulate in the public interest, including for public health purposes, as is already recognised under international law, should an investor state dispute settlement claim adversely affect steps the Government has taken to tackle covid-19.


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

The right to regulate is recognised in international law. Further, investment protection and investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) provisions do not affect HM Government’s ability to regulate in the public interest.

ISDS tribunals cannot overrule the sovereignty of Parliament, overturn or force any changes to law. Indeed, they can only award compensation if a foreign investor’s rights under the treaty have been breached – for example, if the investor is found to have been treated in an arbitrary or discriminatory manner – though there has never been a successful ISDS claim against the United Kingdom.

Reticulating Splines