The European Commission has approved proposals for a new open court to settle disputes arising from international trade agreements rather than relying on controversial ‘investor-state dispute settlement’ (ISDS) arbitration. The Investment Court System would replace ISDS in ongoing and future EU investment negotiations, including those on the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström said: ‘The old, traditional form of dispute resolution suffers from a fundamental lack of trust. Europe must take the responsibility to reform and modernise it.’