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Karkey serves Rs33b damage notice on Pakistan; Approaches ICSID against water and power ministry
20-Jul-2013
The Turkish power firm Karkey Karadeniz Elektrik Uretim (KKEU) has approached the Washington based International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) against Pakistan’s water and power ministry and also served a Rs33billion damage notice on the ministry, sources said on Wednesday.
A cautionary tale: Laos violates another Sanum agreement
15-Jul-2013
Sanum Investments Limited ("Sanum") had seemingly found a winning formula with its hospitality and entertainment enterprises in Lao PDR, until the Government arbitrarily revoked licences, cancelled concessions, imposed wrongful tax penalties and, most significantly, forcibly took control of its highly lucrative Thanaleng Slot Club.
Treaty disputes roiled by bias charges
10-Jul-2013
Concerns about objectivity and accountability of investment dispute arbitrators have prompted calls for tougher ethical guidelines as caseloads have exploded.
ICSID and Latin America: Criticisms, withdrawals and regional alternatives
25-Jun-2013
Latin American states are the only ones in the world that have decided to withdraw from the ICSID Convention. It is also the only region in the world considering the necessity to find an alternative to ICSID mechanism.
Turkish firm Karkey files $700m claim on Pakistan
18-Jun-2013 The News
A Turkish power generation company has filed a case against the Pakistan government at ICSID for compensation of losses worth 700 million dollars
Unfair, unsustainable, and under the radar
26-May-2013 Democracy Center
A new paper from the Democracy Center sheds an urgent public light on the system of international investment rules and arbitration tribunals that is being used by corporations to undermine citizen and government action on a range of urgent social and environmental issues.
Treaty-based disputes between investors, states on the rise, says Unctad
7-May-2013
Dispute settlements between investors and states saw 62 new cases initiated last year, the highest number of known treaty-based disputes filed in a year, according to a report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) in March.
Treaty-based disputes between investors, states on the rise, says Unctad
18-Apr-2013 Business Day
Dispute settlements between investors and states saw 62 new cases initiated last year, the highest number of known treaty-based disputes filed in a year, according to a report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad)
Reko Diq saga: Balochistan wins again
20-Feb-2013
Amidst continuing violence plaguing Balochistan, there is now a cause of joy for the Baloch people and the government.
Why can corporate interests trump sovereign rights?
14-Feb-2013 TRNN
Real News Network interviews Chakravarthi Raghavan on how companies can sue countries under trade and investment agreements
Hearings to start in Uruguay anti-smoking
11-Feb-2013
Uruguay faces its first hearings in the French capital this week in a lawsuit filed by US tobacco giant Philip Morris International against its anti-smoking laws, an official said on Monday.
Reko Diq: the other side
5-Feb-2013
Earlier last month, a three-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry declared null and void the Reko Diq gold and copper mine agreement, the Chagai Hills Exploration Joint Venture Agreement (CHEJVA), with Tethyan Copper Company (TCC).
The Reko Diq Saga
5-Feb-2013
The Supreme Court recently declared void and illegal a mining deal for the Reko Diq copper project signed 20 years ago between the Balochistan government and international mining companies.
ICSID: Ruling favours Venezuela and raises doubts for Costa Rica
31-Jan-2013
A few days ago, ICSID published an award rendered last December 12, 2012 ruling on a claim filed by a Canadian mining company, Vanessa Ventures against Venezuela in 2004.
Supreme Court trashes Reko Diq agreement
16-Jan-2013
It is wonderful that the stance of the government of Balochistan has been upheld by the Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan. Decision given on 7th January, 2013 by the SC has declared the agreement on Reko Diq signed on July 23, 1993 as void and in conflict with the laws of the country. Tethyan Copper Company Pvt Limited (TCC) also lost its case in the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) on December 13, 2012.
Red Electrica seeks arbitration over Bolivia nationalisation
10-Jan-2013
Spanish power grid operator Red Electrica said on Tuesday it had begun to seek World Bank arbitration over Bolivia’s expropriation of its transmission business TDE.
Investment protection clause: India can’t do a Maldives without paying a price
24-Dec-2012
Recent disputes, including the GMR-Maldives government row and the clash between foreign telecom firms Telenor, Sistema, Etisalat and Vodafone and the Indian government, have exposed India’s vulnerable position in investment agreements. While the foreign telecom companies can use a potent weapon - the ’investment protection’ clause in bilateral treaties - against India, GMR cannot do the same with Maldives.
ICSID: Ecuador Unlawfully Seized U.S. Firm’s Oil Investments
23-Dec-2012
The World Bank’s International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes has handed down a ruling against the Ecuadorian government, finding that it “unlawfully expropriated” U.S. firm Burlington Resources’ investments in two oil blocks.
Argentina faces 65bn dollars in claims; plans to abandon international litigations court
29-Nov-2012
Argentina faces 42 claims at the World Bank’s ICSID in which the plaintiffs are demanding compensations for almost 65 billion dollars, revealed Eduardo Barcesat legal advisor to the Argentine Treasury and one of several lawyers who has defended the country in those litigations.
Argentina: Unidad Popular thinks the country should withdraw from ICSID
9-Nov-2012 Parlamentario.com
During a public hearing, a member of parliament, Claudio Lozano made the request to follow in the footsteps of countries such as China, India and Brazil, all countries that have not ratified bilateral investment treaties.