February, 03 2016, 07:30am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Joe Karp-Sawey, media manager,Tel: +44 (0)7711 875 345,Email:,joe.karpsawey@globaljustice.org.uk
German Judges say "No Need or Legal Basis" for Corporate Courts in TTIP
Germany's largest association of judges and public prosecutors yesterday publicly criticised the European Commission's Investment Court System, a set of reforms to replace the Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism in the EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The judges are questioning the legal basis of such system, as well as the need for it to be introduced in the first place.
LONDON
Germany's largest association of judges and public prosecutors yesterday publicly criticised the European Commission's Investment Court System, a set of reforms to replace the Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism in the EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The judges are questioning the legal basis of such system, as well as the need for it to be introduced in the first place.
The European Commission has presented the Investment Court System as a radical new system of investment protection, supposedly establishing a public court to handle disputes. According to the judges, the proposal looks more like a permanent arbitration tribunal.
Nick Dearden, the director of Global Justice Now said:
"This statement by German judges completely supports what campaigners have been saying: the Commission's 'compromise' proposal is actually about trying to legitimise the handing of special legal privilege to big business. It's not about making things fairer, but trying to buy off opposition. It's an assault on the sovereignty of Britain and the EU.
"But the statement proves the Commission has failed - in fact they have simply garnered new opposition. After this disastrous attempt to get themselves out of a deeper hole, we urge the Commission once again to drop their plans for this toxic trade agreement and drop TTIP altogether."
Read Nick Dearden's blog on the statement of the German judges.
Read the english translation of the statement of the German judges.
Global Justice Now is a democratic social justice organisation working as part of a global movement to challenge the powerful and create a more just and equal world. We mobilise people in the UK for change, and act in solidarity with those fighting injustice, particularly in the global south.
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