A group of more than 35 leading academic experts in investment law have expressed concerns over the social impact of the priority given to investor protection. The public statement critiques that “there is a strong moral as well as policy case for governments to withdraw from investment treaties and to oppose investor-state arbitration.” It also calls on international organisations to “refrain from promoting investment treaties” and “to conduct research … on the serious risks posed to governments by investment treaty arbitration.” Arbitrations between governments and foreign investors are often settled by the World Bank Group’s International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).