Summary

QUESTIONS PRESENTED

The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act provides that foreign states are generally immune from civil lawsuits in state and federal courts, save for limited exceptions. 28 U.S.C. 1604. Under one of those exceptions, a foreign state is not immune from certain suits seeking to "confirm an award" under an arbitration agreement "made by the foreign state with or for the benefit of a private party." 28 U.S.C. 1605(a)(6). Petitioner, the Kingdom of Spain, is a signatory to an investment treaty providing for "unconditional consent" to arbitrate disputes with investors from other signatory states, including the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

Respondents are Dutch and Luxembourgish investors or their successors who seek to enforce arbitral awards they obtained against Spain. Spain, however, contends that it never formed valid arbitration agreements with respondents or their predecessors because European law forbids European states and European nationals from agreeing to arbitrate their disputes involving European law.

The questions presented are:

1. Whether Spain's assertion about European law, if correct, affects the existence of the arbitration agreement (and thus Spain's sovereign immunity) or only the agreement's scope.

2. Whether a suit to confirm a foreign arbitral award against a foreign state may be dismissed on grounds of forum non conveniens.