Investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) allows foreign investors to bring claims directly against a host state when new policies or regulations affect the value of their investment or undermine their expectations, presenting a barrier to the transition away from fossil fuels. The objectives of the ISDS workstream are to: develop recommendations for governments; identify challenges and opportunities related to the recommendations and ways forward; and identify research gaps and areas for collaboration. Participation in all four sessions is strongly encouraged; each session is designed to build upon the prior–including the joint session with the Legal Obligations workstream.
Luciana Ghiotto is a researcher at CONICET-UNSAM and associate researcher at the Transnational Institute (TNI), specializing in international trade and investment agreements, investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanisms, and the critical political economy of Latin America. Drawing on frameworks of critical theory, dependency theory, and Marxist political economy, her work interrogates the architecture of international investment law as a terrain of corporate power and structural domination — particularly as it operates against social and territorial rights in the Global South. She coordinates the CLACSO working group on “Lex Mercatoria, Corporate Power and Human Rights” (alongside Ana Saggioro), contributes to the ISDS monitoring platform isds-americalatina.org, and is an active voice in the campaign platform Asamblea Argentina Mejor sin TLC and the broader Plataforma América Latina Mejor sin TLC.
Beyond academic research, Ghiotto is deeply engaged in knowledge production for social movements, producing analytical and advocacy materials on issues ranging from the Mercosur-EU agreement and Argentina’s RIGI to investment cases against Colombia and Ecuador’s constitutional battles over investment treaties. She teaches International Political Economy and International Relations at UNSAM, and her work spans multiple formats — academic articles, policy briefings, amicus curiae briefs, divulgation pieces, and campaign materials — reflecting a consistent commitment to bridging critical scholarship and political practice in Latin America and beyond.
Melissa Blue Sky is a Senior Attorney in the Climate and Energy Program at the Center for International Environmental Law. Her practice focuses on treaty negotiation, implementation, and compliance across multiple international legal regimes, including multilateral environmental agreements and international trade and investment law. Melissa’s work includes a particular focus on investor-State dispute settlement (ISDS) and the intersections of investment law with climate and human rights law.
Melissa received her J.D. from American University Washington College of Law. She also holds a B.A. in Human Ecology from College of the Atlantic and an LL.M. in Law in Development from the University of Warwick. During and prior to law school, Melissa gained experience across government agencies, international institutions, private practice, and civil society organizations in the United States, Europe, and Latin America, working on international environmental law, international economic law, and multilateral negotiations. Melissa speaks English, Spanish, and French.