Work Area: Sovereign immunity

A court in New Zealand has said it can hear a request for recognition of an ICSID award against Hungary, even though there is no evidence the state has any assets in the jurisdiction.

04 February 2022

A US appeals court has said it lacks jurisdiction to intervene in Canadian mining company Crystallex’s efforts to execute a US$1.4 billion ICSID award against Venezuela’s largest foreign asset as the lower court has yet to make a final decision.

19 January 2022

The Court of Appeal in London has blocked an insurance club from pursuing litigation against Spain and France over their failure to comply with awards relating to an oil spill in the Atlantic 19 years ago – but related arbitrations brought by the club will proceed.

09 November 2021

A US appeals court has affirmed that two US-Dominican investors were out of time in serving set-aside proceedings on the Dominican Republic in their bid to revive a nearly US$42 million DR-CAFTA claim.

27 October 2021

Jonathan Gimblett and Tom Cusworth of Covington & Burling consider a recent UK Supreme Court ruling that service of enforcement proceedings on a foreign state through diplomatic channels cannot be dispensed with – arguing it has strengthened the hand of debtor states.

22 July 2021

The Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal has ruled it has no power to grant injunctive relief against Pakistan at the request of an ICSID creditor when a lower court’s finding that the state enjoys immunity has not been set aside.

15 July 2021

A court in the British Virgin Islands has lifted attachments obtained by an ICSID creditor against US$3.1 billion worth of assets belonging to Pakistan’s national airline, including interests in two hotels in New York and Paris.

26 May 2021

A court in Washington, DC, has dismissed a Lithuanian creditor’s attempt to enforce a US$20 million award against Tajikistan’s national airline carrier, ruling the state-owned company lacked sufficient minimum contacts with the United States.

02 February 2021

The Federal Court of Australia has affirmed that Spain is not entitled to rely on sovereign immunity as a defence to recognition of a €101 million ICSID award – while holding that a first-instance judge took the wrong approach in the form of recognition he granted.

01 February 2021

The Dutch Supreme Court has set aside a decision upholding a US$5.2 billion attachment against Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund over an Energy Charter Treaty award – while several US hedge funds with an interest in the award face renewed fraud allegations.

08 January 2021