The actual ability of Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanisms included in EU international agreements to sufficiently safeguard Human Rights: the specific case of Privacy and Data Protection

The contribution focuses on the actual ability of Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanisms included in the international agreements concluded by the EU to sufficiently safeguard human rights, with particular reference to the fundamental rights to privacy and personal data protection. In order to safeguard such rights, EU authorities could decide to suspend data flows from Europe to a non-EU State. However, such suspension could seriously damage foreign investors, who could initiate an ISDS procedure against the EU. The aim of the contribution, therefore, is to understand to what extent the Investment Tribunals eventually seized could take into consideration the abovementioned rights when adopting their decisions, and if there are elements that could save the EU from negative judgments.