Latin America

Latin American and Caribbean countries have signed almost 700 investment agreements. They have been targeted in almost 300 investor-state disputes.

Argentina has faced almost 62 ISDS cases, about 6% of all cases, making it the world’s most targeted state. Venezuela and Mexico have been among the ten most frequent respondents in the world, with 51 and 33 cases, respectively.

Many key cases such as Renco vs. Peru, Chevron vs. Ecuador or Pac Rim vs. El Salvador have originated in significant environmental damages caused by corporations. Philip Morris took an ISDS case against Uruguay over its anti-tobacco law.

Chile, Mexico and Peru are also party to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) with eight other Pacific Rim states. The TPP includes an investor-state dispute mechanism that undermines public-interest ‘safeguards’.

The most well-known cases ISDS cases in the region include:

Chevron (US) vs. Ecuador: For 26 years, Texaco, later acquired by Chevron, performed oil operations in Ecuador. Ecuadorian courts found that during that period the company dumped billions of gallons of toxic water and dug hundreds of open-air oil sludge pits in Ecuador’s Amazon, poisoning the communities of some 30,000 Amazon residents. After a legal battle spanning two decades, in November 2013, Ecuador’s highest court ordered the corporation to pay $9.5 billion to provide desperately needed clean-up and health care to afflicted indigenous communities. Chevron challenged the decisions produced by Ecuador’s domestic legal system before an ISDS tribunal. In 2018, the arbitration tribunal held that the $9.5 billion judgment was fraudulent, violated international public policy and should not be recognised or enforced by the courts of other States. The amount of the award has not been established yet. (Ecuador-United States BIT invoked)

Occidental Petroleum Corporation “Oxy” (US) vs. Ecuador: in 2012 Ecuador was ordered to pay US$1.77 billion to the investor, an oil exploration and production company, for breach of contract. Sentence was reduced to US$1 billion in November 2015 (Ecuador-United States BIT invoked).

Investors vs. Argentina: When Argentina froze its utility rates in response to its 2001-2002 financial crisis, it was hit by over 40 lawsuits from investors, including Suez & Vivendi (France), Sociedad General de Aguas de Barcelona S.A (Spain) and Anglian Water (UK). The ISDS tribunal concluded that Argentina had breached the investors’ right to fair and equitable treatment. By 2014, the country had been ordered to pay a total of US$980 million (various BITs invoked).

Photo: Sairen42 / CC BY-SA 3.0

(April 2020)

El Tiempo Latino | 16-May-2018
Este viernes, la empresa Conoco Phillips tomó control de los activos petroleros, específicamente muelles y almacenes, que posee Venezuela en Bonaire y San Eustaquio
Reuters | 14-May-2018
The legal action was the latest in the Caribbean to enforce a $2 billion arbitration award by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) over the nationalization.
Mining Technology | 11-May-2018
Rusoro Mining has filed lawsuits in the US and Canada to seek compensation via the monetisation of Venezuela’s assets amounting to approximately $1.34bn in connection with the nationalisation of its gold mining assets in Venezuela.
América Económica | 7-May-2018
ConocoPhillips avanzó en sus esfuerzos por tomar los activos en El Caribe de la petrolera estatal venezolana PDVSA para hacer cumplir un laudo arbitral de una década que le otorgó US$2.000 millones por la nacionalización de sus tenencias en el país sudamericano, según dos fuentes con conocimiento de sus acciones.
Economía Hoy | 7-May-2018
Telefónica y el Gobierno de México han puesto fin al procedimiento de arbitraje que les enfrentaba desde hace más de seis años y por el que la compañía de telecomunicaciones reclamaba el pago de compensaciones estimadas en el sector por 1,017 millones de dólares.
The Straits Times | 7-May-2018
PACC Offshore Services Holdings has filed a notice of arbitration against Mexico under the bilateral investment treaty between the United Mexican States and Singapore governments.
Reuters | 7-May-2018
US oil firm ConocoPhillips has moved to take Caribbean assets of Venezuela’s state-run PDVSA to enforce a $2 billion arbitration award over a decade-oil nationalization of its projects in the South American country.
Telecompaper | 7-May-2018
Telefonica Mexico has withdrawn its arbitration claim against the Mexican government in which it had requested compensation amounting to around EUR 850 million after reaching an agreement with the country.
El Tiempo | 4-May-2018
Glencore, Eco Oro, Red Eagle y Galway Mining adelantan procesos arbitrales.
Aeronoticias | 4-May-2018
"El Tribunal Arbitral decide por unanimidad que las Demandantes deben pagar a Perupetro intereses sobre el monto de los daños a una tasa equivalente al 6.25% desde la fecha en que debió haberse pagado hasta la fecha de pago total, sobre saldos insolutos"