Suggestions for the creation of permanent investment courts have been formulated for decades, but only recently they started taking actual institutional form. In particular, the European Commission has been pushing for a court-like mechanism for investment disputes in several recent trade negotiations. Such a framework was included in the EU treaties with Vietnam and Canada, and formally proposed for the TTIP agreement with the US. More recently, parties to the EU – Singapore FTA have also decided to renegotiate the dispute settlement provisions. Possibilities of relevant reforms have also been explored by UNCITRAL Working Group III. Will these developments actually lead to the creation of permanent investment courts? How will such courts change the future of international investment law? Will they bring a real institutional change of adjudicatory mechanisms, significantly different from existing arbitration practice? The panel seeks to address these very timely issues.