Investment treaties allow for claims against Indonesia for haze, says law firm

Singapore

INVESTORS who claim under an investment treaty can hold Indonesia or its government accountable for damage caused by fires it had the ability to prevent, said global law firm Dechert LLP in an update on whether the haze violates international law.

It said the failure by a government to exercise due diligence to prevent transboundary pollution may amount to a breach of international law, but more importantly, investment treaties generally allow qualifying investors to bring claims in their own right against a state which breaches treaty obligations.