¿Por Qué Es Necesaria la Reforma de los Tratados de Inversión y la Solución de Controversias entre Inversionista y Estado?

This report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) examines the necessity of reforming investment treaties and the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) system. It argues that traditional treaties, which prioritize investor protection, often conflict with sustainable development goals, create significant financial burdens for states, and discourage necessary public interest regulations, particularly regarding the energy transition.

• Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is not inherently beneficial for sustainable development; it can have negative impacts such as environmental damage, labor exploitation, tax evasion, corruption, and the displacement of local communities and businesses.
• Investment treaties often fail to attract more FDI as promised and instead expose states to high legal costs and liabilities. They can lead to 'regulatory chill,' where governments are deterred from enacting public interest laws—such as environmental or labor protections—due to the threat of expensive ISDS claims.
• The ISDS system is criticized for being costly, inconsistent, and lacking transparency. It allows foreign investors to bypass national courts and sue states in international tribunals, often resulting in massive monetary awards that can represent several percentage points of a country's GDP.
• Compensation awards in ISDS are increasing significantly. The average award for damages between 2014 and 2023 was USD 256 million, compared to USD 98 million in the previous decade. Total known ISDS awards amount to nearly USD 120 billion.
• ISDS poses a specific risk to the energy transition by protecting fossil fuel investments and making the revocation of renewable energy subsidies more expensive for governments. Conservative estimates place the additional costs of the energy transition related to ISDS at approximately USD 340 billion.
• Current reform efforts are fragmented and often reactive. While some states are terminating treaties or adopting new models focused on cooperation and facilitation (such as Brazil), 97% of obsolete treaties containing broad ISDS access remain in force.
• An ambitious reform requires a holistic approach that goes beyond modernizing treaties to include national laws and contracts. It must prioritize public interest, human rights, and climate action over disproportionate investor protection.

APA

Ostřanský, J., Sarmiento, F., & Nikiema, S. (2025). ¿Por Qué Es Necesaria la Reforma de los Tratados de Inversión y la Solución de Controversias entre Inversionista y Estado? International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2025-04/investment-treaty-and-isds-reform-questions-answers-es.pdf

Chicago

Ostřanský, Josef, Florencia Sarmiento, and Suzy Nikiema. ¿Por Qué Es Necesaria la Reforma de los Tratados de Inversión y la Solución de Controversias entre Inversionista y Estado? International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2025. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2025-04/investment-treaty-and-isds-reform-questions-answers-es.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Ostřanský |first1=Josef |last2=Sarmiento |first2=Florencia |last3=Nikiema |first3=Suzy |title=¿Por Qué Es Necesaria la Reforma de los Tratados de Inversión y la Solución de Controversias entre Inversionista y Estado? |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=March 2025 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2025-04/investment-treaty-and-isds-reform-questions-answers-es.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ostansk2025por, author = {Ostřanský, Josef and Sarmiento, Florencia and Nikiema, Suzy}, title = {{¿Por Qué Es Necesaria la Reforma de los Tratados de Inversión y la Solución de Controversias entre Inversionista y Estado?}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2025}, month = mar, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2025-04/investment-treaty-and-isds-reform-questions-answers-es.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }