The Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) is an investment treaty from the 1990s. It contains an arbitration mechanism known as Investor-State-Dispute-Settlement (ISDS) that allows a private investor to sue a state for any behaviour that harms their economic interest, including legislating in the public interest. Arbitration panels can award millions, sometimes billions of Euro in compensation. The ECT is the most frequently invoked International Investment Agreement with 128 publically known cases. The actual number is likely to be higher because there is no obligation to make cases public.
The ECT has 53 signatories, including almost all European countries, Turkey, and Central Asia. It is therefore highly relevant to CAN Europe members, even those outside the European Union.
