Originally from World Arbitration and Mediation Review

The investment chapters of both the EU–Canada and EU–Vietnam free trade agreements introduce many controversial innovations to the system of investor–state dispute resolution.  Today, disputes between foreign investors and the states hosting the investments are typically resolved by ad hoc tribunals whose members are selected jointly by the disputing investor and state.  However, the European Union’s agreements with Canada and Vietnam would abolish this system, and introduce in its place an Investment Court.  The Investment Court would consist of a standing roster of fifteen lawyers appointed by Canada or Vietnam, depending on the agreement, and the European Union; a given investment dispute would be adjudicated by a three-judge panel selected randomly from this standing roster. This new court system has been called "[t]he end of investment arbitration as we know it, because many of its features fundamentally change the way investors and states will resolve disputes.