Quote Originally Posted by Montmorency View Post
It's really quite simple. If State A wants State B to change their laws such that investors from State A or corporations affiliated with State A can competitively enter State B's market, then that is a state-state issue. Same thing for border traffic and control, standards for quality, measurement, reporting, etc.

Crucially for our discussion, if Corporation A wants to claim that State B is violating its own laws or the conventions of a trade agreement/organization to which State B is party/signatory, then a specialized international court does indeed make sense.
That is what I've been saying. That is the normal practice in these situations. The states create a framework to which they all agree and set up a separate court to enforce that for all members.

So far, I haven't seen anything to suggest that corporation will have powers to change domestic laws for their own purposes, unless it is in conflict with the agreement. For instance, if TPP specifies free trade of all goods between member nations, a state couldn't create a law to impose tariffs on some goods. In that case, corporations and/or other countries and individuals would have the right to sue and demand the withdrawal of such a law, or ultimately, force the rogue nation out, if all else fails. Again, standard international practice.

It's simple really - we all play by the same rules. If you don't accept that, you don't get to play.