A social justice organization has accused the European Commission of “putting lipstick on a pig” with its plan for a new court system for a pending EU-US trade deal the group says still affords “corporations frightening new powers at the expense of our national democracies.”
The proposed system, the Investment Court System, would replace the controversial investor-to-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism, which allows corporations to bypass domestic courts to sue governments over policies that could affect their profits.
Talks on the trade deal, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), “have been dogged by disagreements, particularly over Washington’s insistence that as part of the pact, private companies be allowed to sue governments before special tribunals,” Agence France-Presse reports. Reuters adds:
Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström made the announcement Wednesday, saying in a statement: “Today, we’re delivering on our promise—to propose a new, modernised system of investment courts, subject to democratic principles and public scrutiny.”
“We want to establish a new system built around the elements that make citizens trust domestic or international courts,” her statement continues. “I’m making this proposal public at the same time that I send it to the European Parliament and the Member States. It’s very important to have an open and transparent exchange of views on this widely debated issue.”
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