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Mealey's International Arbitration

July 23, 2025
Peruvian Instrumentality Loses Bid To Dismiss $168M Broadband Contract Case

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A District of Columbia federal judge on July 22 denied a Peruvian state-owned instrumentality’s motion to dismiss a petition against it to confirm an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitral award worth more than $168 million for a contract dispute for the abrupt termination of broadband contracts with a Peruvian company, against it.
July 23, 2025
Cruise Rape Claim Can’t Be Arbitrated Under New York Convention, Judge Says

MIAMI — A Florida federal judge denied a cruise company’s motion to compel arbitration of an employee’s allegations that she was drugged and raped by another employee on a vessel at sea, ruling that the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (EFAA) prohibits arbitration of the dispute under the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (New York Convention).
July 22, 2025
English Appeals Court Reverses Denial Of Korea’s Challenge To $48.5M Award

LONDON — A panel of the English Court of Appeal allowed an appeal by the Republic of Korea and found that a lower court erred by not permitting it to challenge an arbitration tribunal’s award for lack of jurisdiction over the dispute, finding the court improperly interpreted a treaty governing the arbitration between Korean and a U.S. investor.
July 22, 2025
Bankrupt Turkish Claimant Must Post $2M To Maintain Claim Against Turkmenistan

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) on July 21 published a tribunal’s decision granting in part Turkmenistan’s request that a Turkish company accusing the state of impairing its energy investment in violation of the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) be required to post security to cover potential arbitration costs and ordered the claimant to post $2 million in security.
July 22, 2025
9th Circuit Affirms $52M Chinese Award For Investment Dispute

SAN FRANCISCO — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed the confirmation of a Chengdu Arbitration Commission (CAC) arbitral award worth more than $52 million in favor of a Chinese citizen, issued against a Chinese national who resides in California, finding that the arbitration agreement was valid, that the award-debtor had notice of the proceeding and that allegations of one arbitrator being distracted do not violate public policy of the United States.
July 17, 2025
Russia Challenges Finding Of Jurisdiction In $34M Crimean Arbitration Case

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Russian Federation on July 16 filed an appellant brief to the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals urging it to reverse a finding of jurisdiction over it under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) in a joint petition by 11 Ukrainian companies seeking to confirm arbitral awards worth more than $34 million for the seizure of their assets in Crimea, writing that the ruling contradicts recent D.C. Circuit precedent.
July 17, 2025
4th Circuit Won’t Rehear Challenge To $8M Iraq War Contract Award

RICHMOND, Va. — The Fourth Circuit U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied a Kuwaiti company’s petition for a panel and en banc rehearing of its challenge to an $8 million arbitral award it was ordered to pay for a dispute with Kellogg Brown & Root International Inc. (KBR) over logistics contracts performed during the Iraq war.
July 16, 2025
D.C. Circuit Reverses $50M Award Against Zimbabwe For Lack Of Jurisdiction

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on July 15 reversed a district court’s finding of jurisdiction over an action to enforce a Zambian court’s judgment confirming an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitral award worth roughly $50 million against the Republic of Zimbabwe and affiliates in favor of two Mauritian mining investors, finding that a lower court improperly applied a jurisdictional statute that applies to arbitration awards, not money judgments.
July 16, 2025
Judge Confirms $7.6M Award Against Niger For Airport Investment Dispute

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A District of Columbia federal judge granted a Luxembourg investor’s motion for default judgment and confirmed a decade-old International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) award worth more than $7.6 million against the Republic of Niger for harming its investment in operating a Nigerien airport.
July 16, 2025
Slovak Republic Seeks To Enforce 2.3M Euro Attorney Fee Award Against U.S. Driller

DALLAS — The Slovak Republic filed a petition in Texas federal court to enforce an International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) award in which a tribunal rejected a U.S. oil drilling company’s $133 million claim for impairing its investment and instead ordered the driller to pay the Republic’s attorney fees and arbitration costs.
July 15, 2025
Judge Confirms Annulment Decision Worth $438,000 Against Armenia

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A District of Columbia federal judge on July 14 granted a California resident’s petition to enforce an International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) ad hoc committee’s decision awarding him more than $438,000 in arbitration costs and attorney fees and dismissed the Republic of Armenia’s counterpetition to confirm the partly annulled award against the plaintiff’s company.
July 15, 2025
Judge Tosses ISP Suit Seeking To Enforce Foreign Arbitration Award Exceeding $16M

NEW YORK — A New York federal judge on July 14 dismissed with prejudice a suit brought by a now-bankrupt Indonesian-based internet service provider (ISP) seeking to enforce an Indonesian arbitrator’s award of the equivalent of $16,948,937.28 for contracts to provide internet service in Indonesia, finding that the court lacks subject matter jurisdiction and that amendment would be futile.
July 03, 2025
2nd Circuit Finds No Jurisdiction Over Bid To Vacate Swiss Awards

NEW YORK — The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on July 2 affirmed the denial of a petition to vacate two awards issued in a dispute over medical imaging technology, writing that subject matter jurisdiction does not exist under the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the New York Convention) for petitions seeking to vacate a “foreign-made award.”
June 25, 2025
D.C. Circuit Rejects Corruption Defense To $198M Awards In Toll Road Dispute

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on June 24 affirmed the confirmation of two arbitral awards against the city of Lima, Peru, and the entry of judgment worth more than $198 million, rejecting Lima’s arguments that the district court failed to consider evidence of corruption by a contractor.
June 24, 2025
ICSID Tribunal Denies Quick Dismissal In Angolan Turbine Row

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) on June 23 published a tribunal’s decision denying the Republic of Angola’s objection to a Portuguese investor’s claims against it as manifestly untimely, finding that it must treat the investor’s claims as timely based on his allegations and request for arbitration.
June 23, 2025
Company Says Petition To Enter Judgment Strays Outside Of Arbitral Award

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Swiss pharmaceutical company on June 20 filed a brief in District of Columbia federal court arguing that a California company’s petition for entry of judgment confirming an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) tribunal’s award against the Swiss company worth more than $17.8 million asks the court to improperly enter judgment on the petitioner’s “interpretation” of merits findings made by the tribunal.
June 23, 2025
Tribunal Won’t Bifurcate Spanish Solar Farm Investor’s Mexican Dispute

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) on June 20 published a tribunal’s decision rejecting the United Mexican States’ request to bifurcate arbitration claims brought against it by three Spanish solar power investors for alleged breaches of the Spain-Mexico bilateral investment treaty (BIT), finding that Mexico’s objections are too intertwined with the merits and must be heard simultaneously.
June 10, 2025
COMMENTARY: International Arbitration Experts Discuss The Efficiency Of Artificial Intelligence Tools In International Arbitration

[Editor’s Note: Copyright © 2025, LexisNexis. All rights reserved.]
June 19, 2025
Judge Clarifies Schedule In Petition To Enforce $17.8M Arbitral Award

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A District of Columbia federal judge in a June 18 docket entry explained that the court will treat a California pharmaceutical company’s petition to enforce an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) tribunal’s award in its favor worth more than $17.8 million as a motion to enforce under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) and directed a Swiss company to respond by the end of the month.
June 19, 2025
ICSID Tribunal Bifurcates Investor’s $653M Claim Against Ukraine

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) published a tribunal’s decision granting Ukraine’s request to bifurcate claims brought against it by a Luxembourgian investor who seeks $653 million in damages for the alleged expropriation of his investment, writing that it will first decide issues of jurisdiction and liability.
June 19, 2025
Au Pair Company Can’t Compel Arbitration Of Labor Claims,1st Circuit Says

BOSTON — A First District U.S. Court of Appeals panel on June 18 affirmed the denial of an au pair placement company’s motion to compel arbitration of claims brought against it by several foreign nationals for violating federal and state employment laws, finding that the company cannot enforce an arbitration agreement that it didn’t sign and which was not clearly for its benefit.
June 18, 2025
Judge Won’t Vacate Arbitration Of Hurricane Dispute Pending Appeals

NEW ORLEANS — A Louisiana federal judge on June 17 denied a motion to lift a stay on litigation brought by a city against its foreign and domestic insurers in a dispute over Hurricane Ida claims and vacate a prior order compelling arbitration despite a recent ruling by the Louisiana Supreme Court that such arbitrations are barred by state law, writing that there is an intradistrict “split on this issue” and citing two pending appeals.
June 18, 2025
4th Circuit Affirms $8M Award In Iraq War Contract Dispute

RICHMOND, Va. — A Fourth Circuit U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel on June 17 affirmed a Virginia federal court’s confirmation of an arbitral award against a Kuwaiti company worth more than $8 million for a dispute with Kellogg Brown & Root International Inc. (KBR) over logistics contracts performed during the Iraq war.
June 18, 2025
Japanese Wind Investor Seeks To Confirm 106M Euro Award Against Spain

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Japanese investor filed a petition in District of Columbia federal court seeking to confirm an International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) award in its favor worth more than 106 million euros in compensation plus more than $4.3 million in attorney fees and arbitration costs against the Kingdom of Spain for retroactively clawing back certain subsidies.