Despite the growing evidence that corporate sovereignty clauses in international treaties pose considerable risks to nations that sign them, such « investor-state dispute settlement » (ISDS) mechanisms are present in both TPP and TAFTA/TTIP — at least as far as we know: it’s hard to be sure given the obsessive secrecy surrounding them. […]
Freed from the necessity to accept whatever terms other countries might seek to impose on it, South Africa is now able to renegotiate bilateral agreements that are fair and that preserve its right to pass laws as it sees fit, unconstrained by legal threats from foreign investors. […]
If that proves to be the case, it could be that those countries signing up for one-sided and inequitable ISDS clauses in TPP and TAFTA/TTIP will come to regret not choosing to preserve their sovereignty as South Africa has done.
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20131107/09591825170/south-africa-leads-moves-to-terminate-renegotiate-bilateral-investment-treaties.shtml