What is perhaps most troubling about these new investor–state dispute mechanisms, though, is that they are intrinsically imbalanced. Investors have the right to sue states, but states do not have a corresponding right to sue foreign investors. The most a state can hope to win out of a settlement is the nullification of the suit; a state cannot claim damages from foreign corporations. In other words, the system grants special new powers and freedoms to undemocratic corporations while eroding those of sovereign, democratic states.
