Investment Law & Policy
IISD engages with governments, international institutions, civil society, media, and academia to reform the governance of international investment and make it a driver for sustainable development.
Sustainable development is an investment issue. International investment is crucial for tackling climate change, alleviating poverty, creating good jobs, building critical infrastructure, and driving the energy transition. Investment holds the key to a more fair and sustainable world economy.
IISD's global team of investment experts collaborates with governments, international institutions, academics, civil society, and media—developing and advancing legal and policy solutions that ensure foreign investment drives people- and planet-friendly development.
We examine how to improve the institutions, rules, and practices that govern international investment and publish independent and solution-oriented research. IISD' flagship journal, Investment Treaty News, is a must-read for every investment policy-maker, which has brought new analysis and ideas on investment governance and sustainable development to a global readership for 25 years.
Workshops and advisory services
We work with decision-makers on every continent across multilateral, regional, national, and local levels, proposing solutions to some of the most burning issues facing decision-makers in the investment space.
We provide workshops, training, and advisory services to government officials and civil society actors from developing countries from Africa and Asia to Latin America and the Caribbean.
Investment Policy Forum: Driving bottom-up reform
IISD is the founder and host of the Investment Policy Forum—a unique event that brings together investment policy-makers from developing countries across the world to strategize, share knowledge and experiences, and brainstorm new ideas on the reform of international investment governance.
Tackling investor-state dispute settlements
A core mission of IISD's Investment team is to drive reform of the outdated investor–state dispute settlement (ISDS) system under investment treaties and rethink global investment governance—so that foreign investment can meet the urgent challenges of our time and its governance provide robust protection of climate policies, local and indigenous communities, and the environment.
We partner with media to inform the conversation on investment reform, including news outlets, such as Financial Times, the Guardian, and Forbes, legal and investment media, such as Law360 and FDI Intelligence, and regional agenda-setters, such as African Arguments and Afrik21.
Engaging in international reform
At the heart of our engagement in international investment reform is our role in the Task Force for drafting the Investment Protocol of the Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as well as our observer membership of the United Nations Conference on International Trade Law process for ISDS reform (the so-called UNCITRAL Working Group III).
We play a leading role in reforming Europe's investment governance and removing one of the key remaining obstacles to Europe's climate transition—the Energy Charter Treaty, including its sunset clause—through awareness raising, engagement with policy-makers, and advancing legal solutions.
In addition, IISD's Investment team engages in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)'s work program on the Future of Investment Treaties and is a member of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Multi-Stakeholder Platform on International Investment Agreement Reform.
Flagship initiatives
Investment Policy Forum
IISD's Investment Policy Forum is the world's only platform for investment negotiators from developing countries and a driving force for global sustainable investment reform.
Investment Treaty News
Investment Treaty News is IISD's long-running flagship journal, offering our global readership the latest news, analysis, and ideas on how international investment impacts sustainable development.
Rethinking International Investment Governance
Dissecting the key issues with the current regime and leads the way toward fair, inclusive, and sustainable international investment governance.
What we do
Webinars on Investment Law and Policy
IISD's webinars provide key information, cutting analysis, and lively discussions on the latest developments in international law and policy.
Creating Sustainable Reform
IISD works with governments, international institutions, academics, and civil society to propose and support reform in international investment treaties, laws and policies. We are leading the way on global investor-state dispute settlement reform.
Advisory Services, Technical Support, and Workshops
IISD's international lawyers and policy experts provide training courses, workshops, and a range of advisory services for developing economy officials—covering investment treaties, laws and contracts, negotiations, and dispute prevention and management.
Best Practices Policy Bulletins
IISD's Best Practices Series analyzes the evolving scope and nature of investment treaty negotiations, drawing on public treaty texts and model agreements from governments.
In the News
Commission must stop Energy Charter Treaty hijacking EU climate policy
The Energy Charter Treaty allows fossil fuel investors to sue EU member states before international arbitral tribunals to challenge climate mitigation measures. This legal mechanism is increasingly weaponized by the industry, IISD's Lukas Schaugg writes.
Energy Charter Treaty update fails to solve fundamental issues
The updated treaty includes slightly more climate-friendly provisions but extends support for fossil fuel-adjacent activities such as carbon capture, hydrogen, and biomass.
The double-standard in investor-state dispute settlements
Countries, especially those in the Global South, have signed investment treaties to lure foreign investors. These treaties often contain investor-state dispute settlement provisions that lead to governments being sued by foreign investors.
Brussels push to ban ECT disputes gains traction
Two arbitration victories for Spain under the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) have sparked hopes that efforts to halt the intra-EU disputes that dominate claims under the controversial global pact are starting to bear fruit. Climate scholars, like IISD's Lukas Schaugg, believe the tribunal wins this month signal growing acceptance in international legal circles that EU investors cannot bring ECT claims against other member state governments.
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Experts
Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder
Vice-President, Global Strategies and Managing Director, Europe
Suzy H. Nikièma
Director, Investment
Josef Ostřanský
Policy Advisor
Nyaguthii Maina
Associate
Lukas Schaugg
Policy Advisor
Florencia Sarmiento
Policy Advisor
Isaak Bowers
Communications Officer
Yelena Bugakova
Project Manager
Kudzai Mataba
Policy Analyst
Josefina del Rosario Lago
Policy Analyst
Abas Kinda
Associate
Hans Baumgarten
Strategic Advisor
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