Introduction

Professor Lowenfeld has been asked by Messrs. Beirne, Maynard & Parsons, counsel for Respondent Republic of Estonia, to give his opinion on whether a panel of the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes appointed pursuant to the Bilateral Investment Treaty between the Republic of Estonia and the United States of America of February 16, 1997 has jurisdiction over the dispute raised by the Request for Arbitration in this case. In particular, Professor Lowenfeld has been asked whether the extensive prior litigation engaged in by the Claimants herein or their ...