“Environment-related laws are the most often challenged legislation, accounting for two thirds of cases recorded. The research encompasses 127 investor-state dispute cases from bilateral investment treaties and other international treaties. Given the secretive nature of the arbitration process, some information on the amounts claimed for and awarded to companies is not available.”
I suspected that from my reading, the issue of NHS privatisation and the TTIP was a red herring to a wider issue.
That issue is that international regulation of business for environment reasons is the key battle ground. it is notoriously hard to get effective environment laws where industry wants to have their environent costs paid for by society generally and not be a cost of business.
International agreement on trade is paradoxically what is needed to get that ‘level playing field’ and acceptance of environment laws that are effective internationally. At the same time this seems also to be a possible mechaism for penalising and preventing environment legislation getting in the way of corporate expansion. This is becoming possible dilution of governmental power over environment regulation for the common good and only benefitting corporate owners.
I hope people view this with concern. I do.
Paul Johnston - An Independent for Aberdeenshire Council 
December 4th, 2014 at 2:31 pm
Yes that aspect has concerned me from the beginning. also that if a compnay sues the government about any legislation they pass that the company thinks adversely affects them then of course it is still the tax payer who pays.