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> We saw in ICSID’s case database that a pair of suits had been filed against Germany, by a Swedish company. One was worth billions and was ongoing, over the country’s decision to close down its nuclear power plants. The second was about a controversial new coal-fired power plant that seemed to contradict Germany’s much-lauded promises to pursue an epic ‘green energy’ transition.
> If Germany – sometimes called the ‘grandfather’ of the international investor-state legal system – could be sued, it seemed like any country, and thus every taxpayer and citizen, globally could be at risk.
It's an interesting article, but these last two paragraphs show that the author fundamentally doesn't understand the purpose of contracts and courts.
In the context of corporate personhood, people speak of the "right to get sued". This might seem like a paradoxical "right", but it allows those who don't trust you to make contracts with you.
This court system gives countries the same right, and this allows corporations who don't trust them to invest in them.