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Middle East

States from the Middle East have concluded about 600 investment deals. 44 ISDS cases have been brought against Middle Eastern countries, while investors from the region have initiated 44 cases as well.

In 2013, Al-Kharafi & Sons Co., investors from Kuwait, were awarded US$935 million under the Unified Agreement for the Investment of Arab Capital in the Arab States, in a dispute over a land-leasing contract for a tourism project in Libya, making it one of the largest known awards to date. They had only invested about US$5 million but the arbitration tribunal decided that Libya also had to compensate for profits that would have been made during the 90-year leasing contract and were now lost.

Photo: President of Azerbaijan / CC BY 4.0

(April 2020)

Karkey Karadeniz case: In interest alone, govt owes $5.6m a month
The Express Tribune | 22-Sep-2017
The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) has not only imposed a hefty fine on Pakistan but also declared that the country will be paying $5.6 million as interest per month.
energy , investor-state disputes | ISDS , Pakistan , Turkey
International litigator imposes $700m fine on Pakistan in rental power plants case
Daily Pakistan | 21-Sep-2017
Financially-strapped Pakistan has been imposed with a staggering $700 million in a damages suit by the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) regarding rental power plants case.
energy , investor-state disputes | ISDS , Pakistan , Turkey
BUCG v. Yemen decision clears jurisdictional hurdles for investment claims by Chinese state-owned enterprises under the ICSID Convention
Lexology | 7-Aug-2017
The Tribunal dismissed Yemen’s allegations that state-owned enterprises in the PRC were precluded from bringing claims under the ICSID Convention.
China , investor-state disputes | ISDS , Yemen
Minefields in investment relations
Economic & Political Weekly | 10-Jul-2017
The Government of India and the Government of Andhra Pradesh are facing an arbitration suit due to the cancellation of bauxite mining approvals in Visakhapatnam. This is the latest in a series of legal actions by foreign investors in the country.
India , investor-state disputes | ISDS , mining , UAE
Facing the next BIT negotiations: Argentina’s approach to the FET standard
Kluwer Arbitration Blog | 7-Mar-2017
After 15 years of absence in this type of negotiations and several claims the country faced since the economic and financial crisis of 2001, Argentina sat again in the BIT negotiation table.
Argentina , investment | BITs , investor-state disputes | ISDS , Qatar
Arbitrator rules Egypt must compensate EMG
Globes | 4-Mar-2017
The international arbitration panel ruled that Egypt failed to protect the Sinai pipeline from terrorists.
Egypt , energy , investor-state disputes | ISDS , Israel , militarism | terrorism | security
Kuwait’s Agility files $380 mln telecoms arbitration case vs Iraq
Reuters | 10-Feb-2017
Kuwaiti logistics conglomerate Agility to settle by arbitration a $380 million dispute with Iraq’s government .
investor-state disputes | ISDS , Iraq , Kuwait , telecommunications
Iran’s accession to ICSID: What to expect?
EFILA | 24-Jan-2017
Joining the ICSID will enhance international perceptions of Iran as a welcoming country to invest.
ICSID , investment | BITs , investor-state disputes | ISDS , Iran
UAE serves arbitration notice to India for failure to offer bauxite
Mining Weekly | 16-Jan-2017
The Indian government has been served with a notice for international arbitration by the United Arab Emirates’ Ras Al-Khaimah Investment Authority
India , investor-state disputes | ISDS , natural resources , UAE
Argentina is back in the BIT negotiation arena
Investment Claims | 21-Dec-2016
The recent signature of the Argentina-Qatar Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) and the imminent signature of an Argentina-Japan BIT represent a shift in Argentina’s BIT policy.
Argentina , investment | BITs , investor-state disputes | ISDS , Japan , Qatar