A Breach of the Fundamental Purpose of Public Participation in Decision-Making

The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) asserts that the European Commission's consultation on the Multilateral Investment Court failed to meet democratic standards of public participation. CIEL's analysis of nearly 200 narrative comments revealed that nearly two-thirds of respondents opposed the court or demanded fundamental ISDS reforms first, contradicting the Commission's claim of 'broad support'. Consequently, CIEL urges EU Member States to reject the court's mandate and instead cancel or renegotiate existing agreements containing investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanisms.

• The European Commission's consultation on the Multilateral Investment Court was structurally limited, relying on multiple-choice questions that avoided fundamental issues such as whether a corporate court is consistent with human rights, environmental protection, and equal access to justice.
• An analysis of nearly 200 narrative comments by CIEL contradicts the European Commission's claim of 'broad support' for the multilateral reform; instead, nearly two-thirds of respondents expressed opposition to the court or argued it should not be created without first addressing fundamental problems with the investor-state dispute system (ISDS).

APA

Hughes, L. (2017). A Breach of the Fundamental Purpose of Public Participation in Decision-Making. Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/european-commission-consultation-multilateral-investment-court/

Chicago

Hughes, Layla. A Breach of the Fundamental Purpose of Public Participation in Decision-Making. Center for International Environmental Law, 2017. https://www.ciel.org/european-commission-consultation-multilateral-investment-court/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Hughes |first1=Layla |title=A Breach of the Fundamental Purpose of Public Participation in Decision-Making |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |date=21 November 2017 |url=https://www.ciel.org/european-commission-consultation-multilateral-investment-court/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{hughes2017breach, author = {Hughes, Layla}, title = {{A Breach of the Fundamental Purpose of Public Participation in Decision-Making}}, publisher = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2017}, month = nov, url = {https://www.ciel.org/european-commission-consultation-multilateral-investment-court/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }