Summary

Reproduced from www.worldbank.org/icsid with permission of ICSID.

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II. PROCEDURAL HISTORY

4. On January 25, 2018, the Republic of Kazakhstan presented an Application for Annulment (the "Application") of the Award dated September 27, 2017, issued in ICSID Case No. ARB/13/13 between Caratube International Oil Company LLP and Mr. Devincci Salah Hourani and Kazakhstan (the "Award"). Pursuant to Article 52(5) of the ICSID Convention, Respondent requested the ICSID Secretary General to provisionally stay the enforcement of the Award until the ad hoc Committee rules on such request, and that the stay be maintained until a decision on the Application is rendered by the Committee.[1]

5. By letter dated February 2, 2018, the ICSID Secretary General provisionally stayed enforcement of the Award, in accordance with ICSID Arbitration Rule 54(2).

6. The proceeding was subsequently suspended by agreement of the Parties. On August 1, 2019, Claimants requested that the proceeding be resumed and submitted a Request to Lift the Stay of Enforcement of the Award (the "Request to Lift the Stay"), as per ICSID Arbitration Rule 54(2). Claimants requested that the Committee lift the provisional stay of enforcement of the Award pending its decision on the application of Kazakhstan for the annulment of the Award filed on January 25, 2018, or in the alternative, that the ad hoc Committee order Kazakhstan to provide, within 30 days of its decision on this application, financial security by way of an unconditional bank guarantee, as a condition for the continued stay of enforcement of the Award.[2]

7. As per ICSID Arbitration Rules 6 and 53, on September 26, 2019, the ad hoc Committee was constituted. Its Members are Professor Eduardo Zuleta (President), Professor Lawrence Boo, and Judge Bernardo Sepúlveda Amor (the "Committee").

8. By letter dated October 2, 2019, the Committee requested the Parties to seek agreement on a schedule of submissions on the issue of the stay of enforcement and inform the Tribunal accordingly on or before October 11, 2019. The Committee decided to maintain the stay until both Parties have presented their submissions.

9. On separate communications dated October 11, 2019, the Parties informed the Committee that they had not reached an agreement regarding the schedule of submissions on the issue of the stay.

10. By letter dated October 17, 2019, the Committee fixed the schedule of written submissions regarding the issue of the stay. The timetable was set as follows: on November 1, 2019, Kazakhstan would file its Counter-Memorial on Claimants' Request to Lift the Stay; on November 11, 2019, Claimants would file their Reply on the lifting of the Stay; and on November 21, 2019, Respondent would file its Rejoinder on the lifting of the Stay. The Committee decided that there would be no separate hearing on the issue of the stay.

11. The Parties presented their written submissions in accordance with the timetable set by the Committee.

12. The Committee has considered all the submissions and arguments put forward by the Parties. The fact that certain arguments, documents, or legal authorities are not mentioned in the following sections does not mean that the Committee has not considered them.

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VI. DECISION

The Committee, based on the above considerations:

1. Rejects Claimants' Request to Lift the Stay of Enforcement of the Award.

2. Orders to maintain the stay of enforcement of the Award pending its decision on the Application.

3. The Committee may at any time modify or terminate the stay.

Footnotes

[1] Respondent's Application for Annulment, January 25, 2018, ¶33.

[2] Claimants' Request to Lift the Stay of Enforcement of the Award, August 1, 2019 ("Claimants' Request to Lift the Stay"), ¶1.