Proposed investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) provisions in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Agreement (T-TIP), the currently negotiated EU-US agreement that would form the world’s largest regional free-trade area, have attracted controversy and debate. Critics argue that ISDS provisions unduly constrain governments' ability to regulate in the public interest and that investor-state arbitration is undemocratic and delivers inconsistent results. Advocates argue these provisions provide necessary protections for foreign investors. The European Union recently halted TTIP negotiations to conduct a three-month long public consultation on ISDS provisions. TTIP negotiations remain suspended while the EU considers the results of the consultation.

With negotiations at a turning point, this seminar will bring together academics and policymakers to evaluate the origins of ISDS clauses, and probe the reasons they should be included (or excluded) from TTIP.

• Dr Lauge Poulsen, Lecturer in International Political Economy, University College London
• Taylor St John, Senior Researcher, Global Economic Governance Programme
• Further speakers to be announced pending negotiating schedules