William Kirtley Discusses Interim Measures To Prohibit The Sale Of Assets During Arbitration With BBC News.
Interviewed by BBC News (BBC Mundo) in relation to Petróleos de Venezuela S.A.’s planned sale of its American assets, William Kirtley discussed the possibility of prohibiting the the sale of State-owned assets through interim measures issued by arbitral tribunals or through domestic courts.
Arbitral tribunals have the power to prevent the sale of assets to preserve the status quo pending resolution of the outcome of the dispute under most modern international arbitration rules. State courts also have the power to issues interim measures in support of arbitration, which are similar in nature and often overlap with the arbitral tribunal’s own power in this respect.
Arbitrators will order interim measures, which are intended to preserve the status quo pending the outcome of the dispute, in the event of likely harm to one party. This is often because the transfer of assets will make it more difficult to enforce an eventual arbitration award, putting the assets outside of the reach of enforcement proceedings.
The BBC’s article on this matter may be found at:
https://bbc.co.uk/mundo/noticias/2014/08/140807_economia_venezuela_pdvsa_citgo_venta_az.shtml.