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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)

’$1.2b penalty in Karkey case likely to be waived’
Express Tribune | 21-Oct-2019
International institutions, through high-level backdoor contacts, have agreed to waive off the $1.2 billion penalty Pakistan has to pay to Turkey’s Karkey, senior lawyer Babar Awan said.
energy , investor-state disputes | ISDS , Pakistan , Türkiye
Over $100 million paid to Karkey as penalty, claims Sherry
Business Recorder | 27-Sep-2019
Pakistan has paid over $100 million to Turkish rental power company Karkey as a penalty out of $800 million, Senator Sherry Rehman has said.
energy , investor-state disputes | ISDS , Pakistan , Türkiye
Weapons of legal destruction: ISDS lawsuits and Lydian International’s assault on Armenian sovereignty
CADTM | 24-Sep-2019
The signing of an investment treaty involves a unilateral loss of sovereignty on the part of the host state, which is ultimately deemed necessary to attract foreign capital.
Armenia , ICSID , investor-state disputes | ISDS , mining , UNCITRAL
Lydian’s gold project in Armenia faces yet another environmental review
Mining | 27-Aug-2019
Lydian International’s Amulsar gold project in Armenia may have to go through a fourth environmental review in less than a year.
Armenia , investor-state disputes | ISDS , mining
Armenia gives go-ahead to gold mine blocked by green activists
Reuters | 22-Aug-2019
Lydian had threatened to go to arbitration if forced to shut it down.
Armenia , investor-state disputes | ISDS , mining
More precious than gold: community resistance v corporate courts
War on Want | 5-Aug-2019
UK registered mining company Lydian is using corporate courts to bully the Armenian government into cracking down on public protests that have successfully resisted a gold mine.
actions | resistance , Armenia , investor-state disputes | ISDS , mining , UK , video
If a no-deal Brexit happens, mega corporations could sue the government for billions in secret courts
The Independent | 5-Aug-2019
The Armenian government is currently being sued by a corporation for two thirds of its entire government budget. If the UK crashes out on 31 October, it could suffer a similar fate.
Armenia , investor-state disputes | ISDS , mining , UK
ICSID declares SC verdict in RPPs case ‘arbitrary’
Express Tribune | 17-Jul-2019
The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) has declared that the Supreme Court of Pakistan’s judgment in the rental power projects case is ‘arbitrary’.
energy , investor-state disputes | ISDS , Pakistan , Türkiye
World Bank body to hear Agility’s dispute with Iraq government
The National | 15-Jul-2019
Logistics and warehousing company is seeking to settle by arbitration a $380m dispute.
investor-state disputes | ISDS , Iraq , Kuwait
Un tribunal d’arbitrage international statue avoir compétence pour instruire le litige entre Agility et l’Irak
Yahoo | 15-Jul-2019
Agility soutient que le gouvernement irakien a refusé à Agility et à ses filiales la possibilité de contester la décision incorrecte de la Commission des médias et des communications d’annuler son investissement dans Korek Telecom.
investor-state disputes | ISDS , Iraq , Kuwait