On 1 April 2019, at the occasion of the 3rd ICC European Conference during Paris Arbitration Week, the audience had the privilege to hear the keynote speech by Judge Abdulqawi A. Yusuf, President of the ICJ, on the topic ‘Public Interest and the Future of Arbitration: Lessons from Europe’. In this article, which is an edited transcript of his speech, Judge Yusuf addresses the existence, origins, and root causes of the backlash against investor-State dispute settlement (ISDS). He also indicates fundamental principles that should guide any proposal to reform the system.