IISD Launches New Investment Law and Sustainable Development ListServ

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For Immediate Release

IISD Launches New Investment Law and Sustainable Development ListServ

CANADA, May. 23 -/E-Wire/-- The Canadian-based International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) is launching an electronic listserv for

information and knowledge exchange on Investment Law and Sustainable Development

issues in the Americas. "Not only will the listserv will keep its members up-to-date on key events and dates," Brad Etlin, IISD listserv

moderator, explains. "It will distribute valuable tools for advocacy including

calls-for-action, circulate full-text news items, and will generally act as a forum

for empowering individuals and civil society organizations with information on Chapter

11 of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the investment provisions in

the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) and other key issues."

People not overly familiar with, but interested in investment law and sustainable

development issues, as well as experts in this area, will find the listserv valuable

resource for articles, analyses, bulletins, etc. The listserv, moderated by IISD, will

allow individual members to post their own publications and raise for discussion

issues that pertain to the subject matter (English-only please).

The problems with the existing NAFTA Chapter 11 provisions have been all too well

highlighted by a string of recent cases, including:

* A successful challenge by U.S.-based Ethyl Corporation which sought compensation from Canada for banning a suspected carcinogen called MMT;

* A successful challenge of Canada's temporary ban on PCB exports, by a U.S.-based processor of hazardous wastes; and

* The recent NAFTA tribunal decision that ordered Mexico to financially compensate U.S.-based Metalclad Corporation for obstructing the company from setting

up a hazardous waste facility on Mexican soil.

Each of these cases is a balancing act between the legal rights of investors under

NAFTA and the ability of governments to regulate in the public interest on matters

such as environmental integrity, human health and safety. Unfortunately, the cases

settled to date suggest that the balance favours investor interests. (For an excellent

analysis of the problems with the existing provisions â including an in-depth analysis

of every Chapter 11 case to date â see the new IISD/WWF-U.S. publication: Private

Rights, Public Problems: A guide to NAFTA's controversial chapter on investment at http://www.iisd.org/trade/private_rights.htm). It has also become clear from

recently leaked Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) negotiating text on investment

that the same mistakes, in a hemispheric context, are at risk of being repeated.

Join list (INVEST-SD) at: http://www.iisd.org/trade/private_rights.htm.

International Institute for Sustainable Development

http://www.iisd.org/trade/private_rights.htm

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