On 16 January 2013, an Arbitral Tribunal rendered an award dismissing all claims on the merits of the Canadian company Vanessa Ventures Ltd in relation to its investment in a mining project in Venezuela, under a bilateral investment treaty between Canada and Venezuela. At the beginning of the 1990’s, Placer Dome Inc (“PDI”) had contracted […]
OPIC KARIMUM CORPORATION V. THE BOLIVARIAN REPUBLIC OF VENEZUELA (ICSID CASE No. ARB/10/14) – DECISION ON THE PROPOSAL TO DISQUALIFY PROFESSOR PHILIPPE SANDS, ARBITRATOR, MAY 5, 2011
This decision concerns the rejection of a challenge to the arbitrator Professor Phillipe Sands, who had been appointed by Respondent, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. The challenge was made by Claimant on the basis that Phillipe Sands had been appointed previously by Respondent, and also previously by Respondent’s counsel, as arbitrator in ICSID and non-ICSID […]
BG GROUP PLC. V. REPUBLIC OF ARGENTINA – CASE NO. U.S. 12-138 (2014) – U.S. SUPREME COURT
In this dispute, the Claimant was part of a consortium owning majority shares in MetroGas, for the distribution of natural gas in Buenos Aires. Before the 2001 financial crisis, Argentinean law provided that gas tariffs were calculated in US dollars for profitable returns. However, the crisis led to emergency measures, one of which implemented a […]
SAINT-GOBAIN PERFORMANCE PLASTICS EUROPE V. THE BOLIVARIAN REPUBLIC OF VENEZUELA (ICSID CASE NO. ARB/12/13) – DECISION ON PROPOSAL TO DISQUALIFY ARBITRATOR of 27 February 2013
On 25 May 2012, Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Europe filed a request for arbitration against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela for breaches to the Agreement on Encouragement and Reciprocal Protection of Investments between France and Venezuela of 15 April 2004. After appointment of the arbitrators by each party, Claimant filed for the disqualification of the arbitrator […]
The Presumption of Separability in International Arbitration
The presumption of separability in international arbitration means that the validity of an international arbitration agreement is separate and analyzed independently from the rest of a contract. It may be the case that only the arbitration agreement itself is valid while the rest of the contract is not, or vice versa. This presumption is recognized […]