Investor protection and arbitration courts may be the most controversial topics during the present TTIP negotiations. In light of this public debate, the European Commission presented its first proposal for the reform of TTIP investor protection in May 2015. The proposal includes broad reforms concerning the allocation of arbitration courts as well as the challenge of arbitral awards. Further proposals have been made by the European Parliament in July 2015. In spring 2015, social democratic ministers from different EU countries brought a permanent international court house for investment disputes up for discussion. A reform of the international investment protection regime has already been in discussion for some time. The EU Commission plans to present a concrete proposal for the ISDS reform in the coming weeks.

To discuss the current proposals, a trade night on the topic "Quo vadis investment protection: Reform of investor-state arbitration or an international investment court?" was organised on 12 October 2015 at Ecologic Institute in Berlin. The event focused on the most recent proposal of the European Commission in regards to the ISDS reform.

An introduction to the topic by Helene Banner (European Commission) and Prof. Dr. Steffen Hindelang (FU Berlin) was followed by commentary from Jan von Herff (BASF Group).

Trade Nights are a regular series of events convened by Ecologic Institute that provide a forum for the trade community in Berlin to meet informally to discuss current trade policy issues.