Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what stage their negotiations have reached concerning the dispute resolution mechanism in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, especially with regard to secret courts.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK has substantially concluded negotiations on the UK’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
The Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism in CPTPP allows for investors to seek legal redress from a member state for unfair treatment they have received when accessing, or operating in CPTPP markets, for example if they have been discriminated against because of their nationality, which has caused loss or damage to their investment.
CPTPP includes specific provisions on the transparency of ISDS proceedings, including for tribunal documents and hearings to be made public.