Ecuador against bilateral investment treaties

Ecuador's President Rafael Correa announced he plans to challenge bilateral investment treaties as well as the international system for investment arbitration. The country intends to fight back against recent lawsuits by oversea courts and ongoing arbitration procedures underway, which have obliged the Andean country to pay billions of dollars in damages - or have the potential to. Last year, a World Bank arbitration tribunal awarded U.S oil company Occidental damages of $1.77 billion in a claim the company brought against the government of Ecuador. Such lawsuits against Ecuador "could plunge the country into bankruptcy," warned Correa.