> 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.<p>> 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.<p>It's an interesting article, but these last two paragraphs show that the author fundamentally doesn't understand the purpose of contracts and courts.<p>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.<p>This court system gives countries the same right, and this allows corporations who don't trust them to invest in them.