Date of dispatch to the parties: 30 June 2009
International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes
_________________________________________________________________________
SAIPEM S.p.A.
CLAIMANT
v.
THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF BANGLADESH
RESPONDENT
ICSID Case No. ARB/05/7
________________________________________________________
AWARD
________________________________________________________
Rendered by an Arbitral Tribunal composed of:
Prof. Gabrielle Kaufmann-Kohler, President
Prof. Christoph H. Schreuer, Arbitrator
Sir Philip Otton, Arbitrator
Mrs. Eloïse Obadia, Secretary to the Arbitral Tribunal
2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF ABBREVIATIONS...............................................................................................4
I.  SUMMARY OF THE RELEVANT FACTS.....................................................................5 
1.  The Parties...................................................................................................................5 
1.1  The Claimant.................................................................................................................5 
1.2  The Respondent............................................................................................................5 
2.  The project and the dispute........................................................................................5 
2.1  The pipeline contract.....................................................................................................5 
2.2  The origin of the present dispute ...................................................................................7 
2.2.1  The delay in the project ..................................................................................................7 
2.2.2  The agreement to extend the completion date...............................................................7 
2.2.3  The completion of the project, the Retention Money and the Warranty Bond................7 
2.2.4  Compensation for delay..................................................................................................9 
2.3  The ICC Arbitration and the intervention of the courts of Bangladesh..........................10 
II.  PROCEDURAL HISTORY ..........................................................................................17 
1.  Initial phase ...............................................................................................................17 
2.  The jurisdictional phase ...........................................................................................19 
2.1  The written phase on jurisdiction .................................................................................19 
2.2  The hearing on jurisdiction ..........................................................................................20 
3.  The written phase on the merits...............................................................................21 
4.  The hearing on the merits.........................................................................................24 
III.  PARTIES’ POSITIONS ...............................................................................................26 
1.  Saipem’s position......................................................................................................26 
2.  Bangladesh’s position..............................................................................................28 
IV.  ANALYSIS..................................................................................................................29 
1.  Introductory matters .................................................................................................29 
3
1.1  The relevance of previous decisions or awards...........................................................30 
1.2  The relevance of the Decision on Jurisdiction..............................................................30 
1.3  Applicable law(s).........................................................................................................31 
1.4  Are the alleged mistakes contained in the ICC Award relevant?..................................33 
1.5  Evidentiary issues .......................................................................................................36 
1.5.1  Press clippings attached to Mr. Nassuato’s WS...........................................................36 
1.5.2  Burden and standard of proof.......................................................................................36 
1.6  Uncontroversial matters and issues.............................................................................37 
2.  Do the disputed actions constitute an “expropriation” within the meaning of
Article 5 of the BIT? ..................................................................................................38 
2.1  The general conditions of expropriation.......................................................................39 
2.2  Are the disputed actions illegal?..................................................................................41 
2.2.1  The courts’ jurisdiction to revoke the authority of the ICC Arbitral Tribunal .................42 
2.2.2  The “merits” of the courts’ decision to revoke the authority of the arbitrators ..............44 
2.2.3  The Supreme Court decision declaring the ICC Award “non-existent”.........................52 
2.3  Did Saipem have to exhaust local remedies?..............................................................52 
2.4  Did Saipem accept the risk of the revocation of the arbitrator by agreeing to Dhaka
as the seat of the arbitration?......................................................................................55 
2.5  Are the disputed actions attributable to Bangladesh?..................................................56 
3.  Quantum ....................................................................................................................56 
3.1  The amount of compensation according to Saipem.....................................................57 
3.2  The amount of compensation according to Bangladesh ..............................................58 
3.3  The Tribunal’s determination.......................................................................................59 
3.4  Interest........................................................................................................................61 
4.  Causation...................................................................................................................61 
5.  Costs..........................................................................................................................62 
V.  AWARD ......................................................................................................................62 
4
TABLE OF ABBREVIATIONS
Arbitration Rules ICSID Rules of Procedure for Arbitration Proceedings
BAA Bangladeshi Arbitration Act of 1940
BIT Bilateral investment treaty; specifically “Agreement Between the
Government of the Republic of Italy and the Government of the People’s
Republic of Bangladesh on the Promotion and Protection of Investments”
of 20 March 1990
Contract Agreement of 14 February 1990 between Bangladesh Oil Gas and Mineral
Corporation and Saipem S.p.A. for construction of North-South Pipeline
[Work Order PIU/INF/13.52]
Counter-Memorial Bangladesh’s “Counter-Memorial” of 14 May 2006, containing its objections
to jurisdiction
Exh. C- Claimant [Saipem]’s Exhibits
Exh. R- Respondent [Bangladesh]’s Exhibits
HPN Pleading Notes of Dr. Hossain submitted at the Hearing on the Merits
ICC International Chamber of Commerce
ICC Rules ICC Arbitration Rules 1988 (as in force in 1997)
ICSID International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes
ICSID Convention Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and
Nationals of other States
IDA International Development Association
RA Request for Arbitration
Rejoinder Bangladesh Rejoinder on the Merits of 14 January 2008
Reply Saipem’s “Memorial on the Merits” of 22 October 2007
Revocation Decision Decision of the First Court of the Subordinate Judge of Dhaka of 5 April 2000
RPN I Pleading notes of Prof. Radicati di Brozolo of 12 March 2008
RPN II Pleading notes of Prof. Radicati di Brozolo of 14 March 2008
SoC. Saipem’s Statement of Claim of 20 February 2006
Tr. [day] [page:line] Transcript of the hearing on the merits
WS Witness Statement
5
I. SUMMARY OF THE RELEVANT FACTS
1. This chapter sets forth the main relevant facts of this arbitration. Additional facts may
be referred to as and when appropriate in the course of the Tribunal's analysis.
1. THE PARTIES
1.1 The Claimant
2. The Claimant, Saipem S.p.A. (“Saipem” or the “Claimant”), is a company incorporated
and existing under the laws of Italy. Its principal office is situated at Via Martiri di
Cefalonia, 67, 20097 San Donato Milanese, Milan, Italy.
3. The Claimant is represented in this arbitration by Professors Antonio Crivellaro and
Luca Radicati di Brozolo and Mr. Andrea Carta Mantiglia, BONELLI EREDE PAPPALARDO,
Via Barozzi 1, 20122 Milan, Italy.
1.2 The Respondent
4. The Respondent is the People’s Republic of Bangladesh (“Bangladesh” or the
“Respondent”).
5. The Respondent is represented in this arbitration by Messrs. Ajmalul Hossain QC,
Syed Afzal Hossain, Syed Ahrarul Hossain and Md. Sameer Sattar, A. HOSSAIN &
ASSOCIATES LAW OFFICES, 3/B Outer Circular Road, Maghbazar, Dhaka-1217,
Bangladesh as well as Mr. Richard Clegg, SELBORNE CHAMBERS, 10 Essex Street,
London, WC2R 3AA.
2. THE PROJECT AND THE DISPUTE
2.1 The pipeline contract
6. The Bangladesh Oil Gas and Mineral Corporation (Petrobangla) is a State entity
established under the Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation Ordinance of
1985 as amended by the Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation Act of 1989.
6
7. On 14 February 1990, Saipem and Petrobangla entered into an agreement n.
PIU/INF/13.52 to build a pipeline of 409 km to carry condensate and gas in various
locations of the north east of Bangladesh (the “Contract”). The Contract price
amounted to USD 34,796,140 and BDT 415,664,200 (Exh. C-4). The project was
sponsored by the World Bank and financed to a large extent by the International
Development Association (IDA)1
8. Clause 1.2.5 of the Contract afforded Petrobangla the right to retain 10% of each
progress payment due to Saipem as Retention Money up to an amount equivalent to
5% of the total contract price, i.e., USD 1,739,807 plus BDT 20,783,210 (the
“Retention Money”). The Retention Money was to be released to Saipem in two
tranches, half of it not later than 30 days from the issuance of the final taking over
certificate (the “First Taking Over Certificate”) by Petrobangla, and the remaining half
not later than 30 days from the issuance of the final acceptance certificate (the “Final
Acceptance Certificate”) by Petrobangla.
.
9. The same Clause 1.2.5 of the Contract provided that Petrobangla could release the
second half of the Retention Money prior to the Final Acceptance Certificate against a
warranty bond of equal value from a bank acceptable to Petrobangla (the “Warranty
Bond”).
10. The Contract was governed by the laws of Bangladesh and contained the following
arbitration clause (Clause 1.1.38):
If any dispute, question or difference should arise between the parties to this
Contract with regard to rights and obligations hereunder which cannot be
settled amicably, such dispute, question or difference shall be finally settled
under the Rules of Conciliation and Arbitration of the International Chamber
of Commerce by three arbitrators, one to be nominated by each party and
the third arbitrator shall be appointed by the two arbitrators in accordance
with the said Rules and if the arbitrators are unable to do so, the third
arbitrator shall be appointed by the Court of Arbitration of the International
Chamber of Commerce under the said Rules. The venue of the arbitration
shall be Dhaka, Bangladesh. The procedure in arbitration shall be in
English.
(Exh. C-22
1
Under a credit agreement between IDA and Bangladesh and a project agreement between IDA
and Petrobangla both dated 2 May 1985. There was also a subsidiary loan agreement dated 3
October 1985 between Bangladesh and Petrobangla. It is Bangladesh’s assertion that the
Contract arises out of the agreements with IDA, without which the Contract would not have
come into existence (Rejoinder, p. 4 at ¶ 11).
)
7
2.2 The origin of the present dispute
2.2.1 The delay in the project
11. Pursuant to Article 1.1.14 of the Contract, the project was to be completed by 30 April
1991. It was, however, significantly delayed.
12. The parties disagree on the reasons for such delay. According to Saipem, the delay
was mainly due to problems with the local population which rebelled against the
project. By contrast, Bangladesh argues that the problems with the population were
caused by Saipem itself (Quamaruzzaman First WS, pp. 4-5) and that Saipem was
already behind schedule before these problems began (Quamaruzzaman Second WS
pp. 2-3
2.2.2 The agreement to extend the completion date
).
13. By letter of 6 April 1991, Saipem requested an extension of the completion date by one
year and claimed USD 21,231,115 as compensation for delay (Exh. R-8). A few weeks
later, on 19 May 1991, Petrobangla claimed compensation for Saipem’s failure to
complete the project in time in an amount of USD 91 million (Exh. R-12
14. On 29 May 1991, Saipem and Petrobangla, with the approval of the World Bank,
agreed to extend the completion date by one year, i.e., to 30 April 1992. Thereafter,
they started negotiations on the compensation payable as a result of the delay (see
below ¶¶
).
23 et seq.).
2.2.3 The completion of the project, the Retention Money and the Warranty Bond
15. The project was completed and the pipeline taken over by Petrobangla with effect from
14 June 1992. Petrobangla issued the Final Taking Over Certificate on 17 June 1992
(Exh. R-29
16. Shortly thereafter, Petrobangla returned the first half of the Retention Money.
).
17. The second half of the Retention Money was to be released by Petrobangla against a
warranty bond in the same amount, i.e., USD 869,903.50 and BDT 10,391,605.00. The
bond was provided on behalf of Saipem on 27 June 1992 (Warranty Bond No.
8
PG/USD/12/92 issued by Banque Indosuez; hereinafter, the “Warranty Bond”) (Exh. R-
33). Petrobangla agreed that such bond would be released no later than 30 days from
the issuance of the Final Acceptance Certificate (see Counter-Memorial, p. 26
18. On 23 June 1993, Petrobangla sent an “extend or pay letter” in the following terms:
).
The validity of the captioned guarantee which was extended by you vide
your letter No. CRDT/AU.-PG-12/92-551/93 dated 04-05-93, will expire on
30-06-93.
We have requested the Contractor to extend the validity of the said
guarantee for further period up to 31-12-93 before its expiry.
If the Contractor does not give any extension of the validity of this guarantee
before its expiry date i.e. 30-06-93, you will treat this letter as our
encashment notice against the subject guarantee and in that event you will
effect payment to us by a Demand-Draft drawn in favour of the Project
Implementation Unit, Petrobangla.
(Exh. R-67
19. On 17 June 1993, Saipem obtained an injunction from the courts in Milan prohibiting
Banque Indosuez Italy (the bank which had issued the Warranty Bond) to pay out on
the Warranty Bond to Banque Indosuez Pakistan (the correspondent bank in
Pakistan)
)
2
20. By letter of 23 June 2003, Petrobangla requested Banque Indosuez Pakistan to pay
out on the Warranty Bond. In these proceedings, Bangladesh has alleged that
Petrobangla later withdrew that request. Saipem has not disputed such allegation.
.
21. Being exposed to the risk of a call on the Warranty Bond, on 12 February 1994,
Banque Indosuez Pakistan filed an action before the Court of the 4th
Sub-Judge of
Dhaka for a declaration that no payment should be made in favour of Petrobangla
under the Warranty Bond until the injunction of the courts of Milan was vacated.
According to the court’s order sheet, a further hearing was set on 4 June 2006. This
action was still pending at the time of the hearing on jurisdiction in this arbitration.
2
This injunction was confirmed on 19 July 1993 and subsequently affirmed by the Court of
Appeal of Milan on 12 August 1993. The action on the merits, which was initiated to maintain
the injunction was still pending at the time of the hearing on jurisdiction in this arbitration
(Transcripts of the Hearing on Jurisdiction, 22 September 2006, Day II, 63:22-64:3).
9
Saipem was not a party to it.3
22. It is undisputed that Petrobangla did not repay the second half of the Retention Money
in spite of the issuance of the Warranty Bond.
The Tribunal received no further information on such
proceedings in the further course of the arbitration.
2.2.4 Compensation for delay
23. Following the agreement to extend the time for completion of the project, the parties
started negotiations on the amount of compensation due on account of the delays.
Between January and May 1992, Petrobangla paid significant amounts to Saipem,
allegedly “under pressure from the World Bank" (Quamaruzzaman First WS, ¶ 8, p. 3
A conditional settlement on the issue of compensation was eventually
reached on the 9 July 1992 by exchange of telexes after the extension of
time for completion was granted (“the Compromise”). Petrobangla stated in
its letter dated 17 June 1992 that a committee specifically constituted by its
Board had assessed Saipem’s claim for compensation at US$11.438
million. […]
The Compromise to pay US$ 11.438 million was thus made conditional
upon two matters: first, the verification and examination of the genuineness
of Saipem’s claims by Government of Bangladesh / Petrobangla [which
never occurred] […].
Secondly, the issue of whether Saipem or Petrobangla was liable for the
delay that had occurred in the construction of the Pipeline had to be
determined subsequently and such determination would be made by a
single arbitrator suitable to both parties [who was never appointed] […].
Although US$10 million was paid by Petrobangla on account of
compensation under the Compromise, there remained a disagreement as to
the total amount of compensation to be paid and also as to whether
Petrobangla should pay compensation. It is asserted that, contrary to the
finding by the ICC Tribunal, there was never any agreement between the
parties that Petrobangla should pay compensation to Saipem (whether
conditionally or unconditionally) in the sum of US$14 million. In any event, it
is contended that such a finding was perverse in the light of the material
facts available before the ICC Tribunal.
).
A dispute arose between the parties with respect to Petrobangla’s failure to pay the
additional costs allegedly agreed. The parties have conflicting views on whether they
agreed on such compensation or not. Bangladesh contends that they did not agree
and that the issue of the responsibility for the delay was to be decided by a single
arbitrator, who was never appointed. Specifically, Bangladesh raised the following
arguments:
(Rejoinder, pp. 6-12, in particular ¶¶ 16, 20, 21 and 34
3
See Transcripts of the Hearing on Jurisdiction, 22 September 2006, Day I, 57:14-21.
)
10
24. Saipem agrees that an agreement was reached, which coincides with the findings of
the arbitral tribunal constituted under the arbitration clause embodied in the Contract.
According to the Claimant, the so-called Compromise was unconditional and the only
reason why the payment was not made was a change in the Bangladeshi Government.
2.3 The ICC Arbitration and the intervention of the courts of Bangladesh
25. In accordance with the dispute resolution procedure set forth in the Contract, Saipem
referred the dispute so arisen to ICC arbitration by filing a request for arbitration on
7 June 1993. An arbitral tribunal composed of Dr. Werner Melis (Chairman), Prof.
Riccardo Luzzatto and Prof. Ian Brownlie, QC, (the “ICC Tribunal” or the “ICC
arbitrators”) was constituted on 4 May 1994.
26. Petrobangla challenged the jurisdiction of the ICC Tribunal on several grounds, none
of which related to the appointment of a sole arbitrator pursuant to the Compromise
(Exh. C-6)4
27. On 27 November 1995, the ICC Tribunal issued an award on jurisdiction dismissing
Petrobangla’s challenge to its jurisdiction (
.
Exh. C-7
28. In substance, Saipem claimed compensation in excess of USD 11 million (USD
7,579,445 and BDT 123,350,330) and the return of the Warranty Bond. Petrobangla
opposed these claims and raised several counterclaims in the total amount of USD
10,577,941.98.
). It then addressed the merits of
the case.
29. After the exchange of the written submissions in the ICC Arbitration, a witness hearing
was held on 22-27 July 1997 in Dhaka (the ICC Hearing). It is the contention of
Mr. Nassuato of Saipem that the situation in Bangladesh at the time of the hearing was
hostile towards Saipem. In particular, the Italian ambassador wished to meet the
4
Petrobangla’s jurisdictional objection in relation to the additional compensation for time
extension was that such claim “is outside the scope of the Arbitration Clause and beyond the
jurisdiction of the Tribunal since it does not relate to rights or obligations under the Agreement
as therein no clause in the Agreement which provides for such additional compensation for time
extension” (Petrobangla’s submissions in the ICC Arbitration as quoted in the ICC Terms of
reference [Exh. R-70, p. 8] and the ICC Award [Exh. C-6, p. 6]). Petrobangla also opposed the
admissibility of Saipem’s claim on the ground that they were premature as they “[we]re not
matters which ‘cannot be settled amicably’ [as provided for by the arbitration agreement]” (Exh.
R-70, p. 8 and Exh C-6, pp. 6-7).
11
members of Saipem’s team before the hearing to warn them that the local press was
portraying Saipem as an exploiter of Bangladeshi resources, to express worries about
their safety, and to offer them protection during their stay in the country (
30. According to Mr. Nassuato, Bangladesh took action to prevent Mr. Clark, a key witness
on behalf of Saipem, to give testimony at the ICC hearing:
WS Nassuato,
pp. 4-5).
Mr. Clark was the Senior Engineer of Pencol Engineering Consultant in
Bangladesh from March 1990 to April 1993. Pencol had been selected by
the World Bank as the independent and impartial Engineer to supervise the
performance of the North South Pipeline Project.
Mr. Clark monitored the performance of the contract between Saipem and
Petrobangla and periodically reported to the World Bank on the major
events relating to the Project, with particular reference to those which could
have an impact on timing and costs. At the end of the Project, Mr. Clark left
Bangladesh.
Because of Mr. Clark's thorough knowledge of all the events relating to the
Project, he was named as a witness by Saipem in the ICC Arbitration. [...]
[…] When Saipem's counsel informed him that his oral examination would
be held in Dhaka, he told Saipem that he was unable to come to
Bangladesh.
There followed many telephone conversations between myself and Mr.
Clark to persuade him to attend the hearing in Dhaka. Mr. Clark declared his
availability to be heard by the Tribunal anywhere except in Bangladesh. In
particular, he offered to be heard in London, Vienna or Mombay. Since
Petrobangla refused to accept that hearings be held anywhere other than in
Dhaka, Mr. Clark could never be heard by the Arbitral Tribunal.
In one of our conversations, Mr. Clark revealed to me that the reason why
he could not come to Bangladesh was that he feared being arrested
immediately upon his arrival in the country.
He explained that at the end of the works in 1993 he was ordered by local
officials not to issue opinions or to render testimony or other local officials
not to issue opinions or to render testimony or other evidence in support of
Saipem's claims, either in the arbitration or in direct negotiations with the
Government. They knew that he had full knowledge of the file and that he
had already advised Petrobangla to accept Saipem's request for monetary
compensation and restitution of retention money and bonds. These officials
let Mr. Clark clearly understand that, in the contrary case, he was exposed
to the severe risk of being arrested for collusion with Saipem.
It is because of these threats that, as he reported to me, he was forced to
leave the country soon after completion of the project in 1993.
(
31. During the ICC hearing, the ICC Arbitral Tribunal denied several procedural requests
submitted by Petrobangla, in particular (i) a request to strike from the record the
WS Nassuato, pp. 4-5)
12
witness statement of Mr. Clark, (ii) a request that all witnesses be allowed to be
present in the hearing room during the entire hearing, (iii) a request that a letter from
Petrobangla which was not on record be filed during the cross-examination of a
witness, (iv) a request to strike from the record a "draft aide-mémoire" of the World
Bank and certain cost calculations prepared by Saipem, and (v) a request that
transcripts be made of the tape recordings of the hearing.
32. Following the ICC hearing, Petrobangla formally reiterated its requests on 26 August
1997. The ICC Tribunal denied Petrobangla’s applications once again on
21 September 1997.
33. In August 1997, Petrobangla wrote to the ICC Arbitral Tribunal to request information
regarding Saipem’s insurance policy and claims made under it, which Saipem had
refused to provide. The ICC Arbitral Tribunal issued an order that Saipem’s refusal to
provide the requested information would be assessed when appropriate at a later stage of
the proceedings.
34. Following these adverse procedural decisions, Petrobangla sought the support of the
local courts. In Mr. Ahmad’s words:
During the ICC proceedings, Petrobangla raised certain objections before
the ICC Tribunal regarding the conduct of the proceedings. These
objections being largely unsuccessful and fearing injustice, Petrobangla
then approached the courts of Bangladesh seeking revocation of the ICC
Tribunal's authority under Section 5 of the Arbitration Act 1940. […]
Plainly, it was Petrobangla's fear and grievance that the ICC Tribunal had or
would commit a substantial miscarriage of justice and it had a reasonable
apprehension that it would not get a fair trial before the ICC Tribunal.
(Ahmad Second WS, ¶¶ 7 and 10, p. 3
35. On 16 November 1997, Petrobangla filed an action seeking the revocation of the
authority of the ICC Arbitral Tribunal's in the First Court of the Subordinate Judge of
Dhaka (
)
Exh. R-83)5
5
On 23 June 1999, Saipem filed an application for “rejection of the application” on the merits
(Exh. R-85), which was refused by an order dated 5 September 1999 (Exh. R-87). Saipem did
not appeal from this order in the High Court Division of the Supreme Court.
. The action was based on the ICC arbitrators’ alleged misconduct
13
and breach of the parties’ procedural rights when rejecting Petrobangla’s procedural
requests during the hearing of 22-27 July 19976
36. On 17 November 1997, Petrobangla applied to the High Court Division of the Supreme
Court of Bangladesh "to stay all further proceedings of the Arbitration Case No.
7934/CK pending before the arbitral tribunal and/or to restrain the opposite party
and/or the tribunal by and from proceeding further with the said arbitration" (
.
Exh. C-
10.2
37. A week later, on 24 November 1997, the Supreme Court of Bangladesh issued an
injunction restraining Saipem from proceeding with the ICC Arbitration (
).
Exh. C-10.3)7
[Saipem] is hereby restrained by an order of ad-interim injunction from
proceeding with the said arbitration proceeding case No. 7934/CK for a
period of 8 (eight) weeks from date.
(
:
Exh. C-10.3, p. 2
38. Because of the measures just referred to, which Saipem viewed as punitive actions
taken against it by the new government (see above ¶
)
24)8
, Saipem felt that it was
unsafe for its management to travel to Bangladesh (WS Galizzi, p. 2
6
Petrobangla also sought an interim injunction pending the hearing of its application, which was
dismissed by the Court by an order dated 16 November 1997 (Exh. C-10.1). On 17 November
1997, Petrobangla filed an appeal from this order (Exh. C-10.2). By a judgment dated 2 May
1999, the High Court allowed Petrobangla's appeal, set aside the order dated 16 November
1997 of the lower court, and granted the interim injunction in respect of the proceedings of the
ICC Tribunal (Exh. C-10.5). On 30 June 1999, Saipem appealed from this judgment in the
Appellate Division of the Supreme Court and requested a stay of the operation of the Judgment
of the High Court Division. The Appellate Division granted the stay and extended it by two
separate orders dated 4 and 18 July 1999 until 22 July 1999. After having heard both parties,
on 25 July 1999 the Appellate Division rendered a judgment upholding the High Court decision
of 2 May 1999.
7
Saipem appealed from the judicial stay of the arbitration on the ground that the Bangladeshi
courts had no jurisdiction to decide on Petrobangla's petition regarding the alleged misconduct
of the proceedings by the arbitrators. Specifically, Saipem submitted that the ICC Arbitration
Rules elected by the parties provided for an exclusive mechanism for disqualification of the
arbitrators and that such an election had to be taken into consideration according to Section V
of the Bangladeshi Arbitration Act of 1940. Pursuant to this provision, "the authority of an
appointed arbitrator is irrevocable except with the leave of the court, unless a contrary intention
is expressed in the arbitration agreement".
8
According to Mr. Nassuato, “Saipem, considered the risky conditions in the country very
seriously when the question arose of whether we were to appear before the Bangladeshi courts
to contest the decisions interfering with the arbitration” (Nassuato WS, p. 6).
). It also feared
that its acting through a Bangladeshi lawyer may put such a lawyer at risk. It thus
decided to act in Bangladesh through an Indian law firm:
14
This way of proceeding was imposed by the fact that we, Saipem's
employees or officials, were prevented from going to Bangladesh because
our physical presence in the country was extremely dangerous to our
personal safety. Moreover, we were worried that a direct mandate from us to
a Bangladeshi lawyer would constitute a cause of concern and risk also for
such local lawyer.
(
39. Several other court decisions confirmed and maintained the stay of the arbitration,
including a decision of the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh
handed down on 23 March 1998 (
WS Nassuato, p. 5)
Exh. C-10.4
40. On 19 September 1999, Saipem filed a written objection to Petrobangla’s action
seeking the revocation of the ICC Arbitral Tribunal's authority (
).
Exh. R-88
In view of the submission of the lawyers for the parties and perusal of the
documents filed by both sides I hold that the Arbitral Tribunal has conducted
the arbitration proceedings improperly by refusing to determine the question
of the admissibility of evidence and the exclusion of certain documents from
the record as well as by its failure to direct that information regarding
insurance be provided. Moreover, the Tribunal has manifestly been in
disregard of the law and as such the Tribunal committed misconduct.
Therefore, in the above circumstances, it appears to me that there is a
likelihood of miscarriage of justice.
(
). A few
weeks later, on 5 April 2000, the First Court of the Subordinate Judge of Dhaka issued
a decision revoking the authority of the ICC Arbitral Tribunal (the “Revocation
Decision”) on the following grounds:
Exh. C-11, as quoted in SoC., p. 21, ¶ 92
41. According to Mr. Galizzi of Saipem, the Revocation Decision came as a shock and
brought the collusion between Petrobangla and the courts of Bangladesh to light:
)
It became clear to us why Petrobangla had insisted on Dhaka as the seat of
the arbitration. They evidently intended to use this as a means to allow their
courts to interfere with the arbitration and to bring matters before their local
courts. Had we suspected that the local courts would accept to play
Petrobangla's game, we would never have accepted Dakha as the seat of
the arbitration and would have refused to conclude the contract.
(WS Galizzi p. 3
42. Two degrees of appeals were available from the Revocation Decision and Saipem
asserts that it then “seriously weighed the option of contesting the [Revocation
)
15
Decision]” (Reply, p. 12, ¶ 43
Upon the revocation of the authority of the ICC Tribunal, it [Saipem] ceased
to take any part in the Bangladeshi cases and simply ignored the decisions
and went ahead with the ICC arbitration.
(
). It chose, however, not to do so. Indeed, as pointed out
by Mr. Ahmad on behalf of Bangladesh:
Ahmad Second WS, ¶ 12, p. 4
43. According to Mr. Galizzi of Saipem, the latter decided not to file an appeal because
any expectation to succeed appeared unsustainable under the circumstances:
)
Because of the hostile climate in Bangladesh and because we were firmly
convinced that the revocation of the authority of the Arbitral Tribunal was
completely illegal by all standards, we knew that we had no alternative but
to proceed with the arbitration. Our Indian counsel advised us that an appeal
against the injunction against the continuation of the arbitration was possible
in theory, but unsustainable in substance. It was clear that we would not be
in a position to defend ourselves before the local courts and that the climate
was incompatible with a fair trial. As is confirmed by the witness statement
of Mr. Nassuato, our witnesses, including the members of the arbitral
tribunal, would have risked being in physical danger had they come to testify
in Dhaka. Clearly the members of the ICC Arbitral Tribunal would have been
key witnesses in those proceedings. The testimony of the Arbitrators would
have been crucial, since the only reason for the revocation of the authority
of the ICC tribunal was the alleged misconduct of the proceedings imputed
to the Arbitrators. They could have demonstrated that no misconduct had
ever been committed by them and that they had properly conducted the
arbitration proceedings pursuant to the ICC Rules and even to the
provisions of the Bangladeshi Arbitration Act.
(WS Galizzi pp. 3-4
44. According to Mr. Ahmad, who testified on behalf of Bangladesh, the fear that Saipem’s
witnesses and members of the Tribunal would have been in physical danger had they
come to testify in Dhaka “was baseless [and] not supported by evidence” (
)
Ahmad
Second WS, ¶ 19, p. 5
While Saipem was represented by Bangladeshi Counsel in the above cases
no suggestion was ever made that there was any fear of bias or prejudice
against Saipem or that the courts were leaning towards Petrobangla in order
to let it "off the hook" in respect of a potential award in its favour.
(
). Moreover:
Ahmad Second WS, ¶ 15, p. 4
45. On 30 April 2001, the ICC Arbitral Tribunal decided to resume the proceedings “on the
ground that the challenge or replacement of the arbitrators in an ICC arbitration falls
)
16
within the exclusive jurisdiction of the ICC Court and not of the courts of Bangladesh”
and that “the revocation of the authority of the ICC Arbitral Tribunal by the Bangladeshi
courts was [thus] contrary to the general principles governing international arbitration”
(Exh. C-8
46. Shortly thereafter, on 9 May 2001, Petrobangla brought an action before the First
Court of the Subordinate Judge of Dhaka to set aside the ICC Arbitral Tribunal’s order
resuming the arbitration arguing inter alia that Saipem was "manifestly guilty of
contempt of court” having participated in the arbitration despite the court injunction
(
).
Exh. C-12
47. Two weeks later, on 24 May 2001, it also filed a request for a declaration that the ICC
Arbitration was unlawful on the ground that the authority of the ICC Arbitral Tribunal
was revoked by operation of the decision of the Dhaka Subordinate Judge. It also
applied for an interim and a permanent injunction against the continuation of the
arbitration. On the same day, the court refused to grant the interim injunction. On 27
May 2001, Petrobangla appealed against this refusal before the High Court Division of
the Supreme Court. On the same date, the High Court Division issued an injunction
restraining Saipem from pursuing the ICC Arbitration. This decision was confirmed by
the High Court Division on 23 October 2001, 16 January 2002, and 15 July 2002.
).
48. In the meantime, the ICC Arbitration proceeded and, on 9 May 2003, the ICC Arbitral
Tribunal rendered an award holding that Petrobangla had breached its contractual
obligations to compensate Saipem for the time extension and additional works and
ordered Petrobangla to pay to Saipem the total amount of USD 6,148,770.80 plus EUR
110,995.92 (which included the Retention Money which remained unpaid) plus interest
at 3.375% from 7 June 1993. It also ordered Petrobangla to return the Warranty Bond
to Saipem (the “ICC Award”; Exh. C-6
49. On 19 July 2003, Petrobangla applied to set aside the ICC Award before the High
Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh under Sections 42(2) and 43 of the
Arbitration Act 2001 (
).
Exh. C-13
50. The High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh denied such application
on 21 April 2004 because it was “misconceived and incompetent inasmuch as there is
no Award in the eye of the law, which can be set aside” (
).
Exh. C-21, p. 11). In the most
relevant passage, the High Court Division decision reads as follows:
17
[…] On a perusal of materials on record and particularly Annexure-"D" that
is the judgment passed by the learned Subordinate Judge, First Court, in
Arbitration Miscellaneous Case No. 49 of 1997, it appears that the authority
of the Arbitral Tribunal to proceed with the Arbitration Case No.
7934/CK/AER/ACS/MS had been revoked on 5.4.2000. Therefore, the
Arbitral Tribunal proceeded with the said arbitration case most illegally and
without jurisdiction after the pronouncement of the judgment of Arbitration
Miscellaneous Case No. 49 of 1997. Moreover, the Arbitral Tribunal was
injuncted upon by the High Court Division not to proceed with the said
arbitration case any further but in spite of that the Tribunal proceeded with
the Arbitration Case and ultimately declared their Award on 9.5.2003. […]
The applicable law of the agreement was set out in clause 1.1.1a of the
agreement in the following terms: “1.1.1a The contract shall be governed
and construed with reference to the law in force in Bangladesh…”. Thus it is
clear that the Bangladesh Court has the jurisdiction to entertain a
suit/proceeding if initiated by a party to the Contract. Therefore the judgment
passed by the First Subordinate Judge in Arbitration Miscellaneous Case
No. 49 of 1997 and the injunction order dated 2.5.1999 passed by this Court
in the Miscellaneous Appeal No. 25 of 1997 were binding upon the Arbitral
Tribunal […]
It is, thus, clear and obvious that the Award dated 9.5.2003 passed by the
Arbitral Tribunal in Arbitration Case No. 7934/CK/AER/ACS/MS is a nullity in
the eye of law and this Award can not be treated as an Award in the eye of
law as it is clearly illegal and without jurisdiction inasmuch as the authority of
the Tribunal was revoked as back as on 5.4.2000 by a competent Court of
Bangladesh. […]
A non-existent award can neither be set aside nor can it be enforced.
(Exh. C-21, pp. 8-11
51. It is undisputed that Saipem did not appeal this decision.
)
II. PROCEDURAL HISTORY
1. INITIAL PHASE
52. On 5 October 2004, Saipem filed a Request for Arbitration (the “Request” or “RA”) with
the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (“ICSID” or the
“Centre”), accompanied by 17 exhibits (Exh. C-1 to 17
6.1 Claim for Declaratory Decisions
The Claimant requests that the Arbitral Tribunal declare that:
- Bangladesh has expropriated Claimant of its investment without
paying compensation;
- Bangladesh has breached its international obligations under the BIT.
). In its Request, Saipem
invoked the provisions of the BIT and sought the following relief:
18
6.2 Monetary Claims
The Claimant requests that the Arbitral Tribunal award it complete
compensation for all the damages and losses it suffered as a result of
Bangladesh's breaches of its obligations.
As the Claimant will substantiate at the proper stage of the proceedings, the
loss suffered by the Claimant amounts to at least US$ 12,500,000.00, plus
interest at the proper rate.
The Claimant also requests that the Arbitral Tribunal order Bangladesh to
return or extinguish the Warranty Bond.
6.3 Interim Relief
In light of Bangladesh's bad faith attempts to draw upon the Warranty Bond,
the Claimant requests that the Tribunal issue a provisional order pursuant to
Article 47 of the Convention ordering Respondent to refrain from pursuing –
and to prevent Petrobangla from pursuing – any payment demand based on
this Bond until the outcome of the present arbitration.
6.4 The Costs of the Present Arbitration
The Claimant requests that the Arbitral Tribunal order Respondent to
reimburse Claimant for all the costs incurred and to be incurred by it in
connection with the present arbitration, including legal fees.
(RA, pp. 27-28, ¶¶ 121-126, footnote omitted
53. On 12 October 2004, the Centre, in accordance with Rule 5 of the ICSID Rules of
Procedure for the Institution of Conciliation and Arbitration Proceedings (the “Institution
Rules”), transmitted a copy of the RA to Bangladesh.
)
54. After a protracted exchange of correspondence (during which the Claimant filed
additional exhibits to the Request – Exh. C-18 to 21
55. The parties agreed on a Tribunal composed of three arbitrators with one arbitrator
each to be appointed by the parties and the presiding arbitrator to be jointly nominated
by the two party-appointed arbitrators. On 27 June 2005, Saipem appointed Prof.
Christoph Schreuer, a national of Austria. On 4 July 2005, Bangladesh appointed Sir
Philip Otton, a national of the United Kingdom. On 21 July 2005, the Secretariat
) between the parties and the
Centre, on 27 April 2005, the Secretary-General of the Centre registered Saipem’s
Request, pursuant to Article 36(3) of the Convention on the Settlement of Investment
Disputes between States and Nationals of other States (the “ICSID Convention” or “the
Convention”). On the same date, in accordance with Institution Rule 7, the SecretaryGeneral
notified the parties of the registration of the Request and invited them to
proceed, as soon as possible, to constitute an Arbitral Tribunal.
19
informed the parties that the co-arbitrators had agreed to appoint Prof. Gabrielle
Kaufmann-Kohler, a national of Switzerland, as the President of the Tribunal.
56. On 22 August 2005, the Secretary-General of ICSID, in accordance with Rule 6(1) of
the ICSID Rules of Procedure for Arbitration Proceedings (the “Arbitration Rules”),
notified the parties that all three arbitrators had accepted their appointment and that
the Tribunal was therefore deemed to be constituted and the proceedings to have
begun on that date. The same letter informed the parties that Mrs. Eloïse M. Obadia,
ICSID Counsel, would serve as Secretary to the Tribunal. Mrs. Obadia was replaced
as the Secretary of the Tribunal by Mrs. Martina Polasek, ICSID Counsel, from 23
August 2006 to 31 May 2007.
57. By decision of 11 October 2005, Sir Philip Otton and Prof. Gabrielle Kaufmann-Kohler
dismissed Bangladesh’s Proposal for Disqualification of Prof. Christoph Schreuer
concluding that the latter met the requirement of independence and impartiality, or, in
the words of Article 14(1) of the ICSID Convention, that he had the ability to “exercise
independent judgement”.
58. On 1 December 2005, the Tribunal held a preliminary session in London. At the outset
of the session, the parties expressed agreement that the Tribunal had been duly
constituted (Arbitration Rule 6) and stated that they had no objections in this respect.
The remainder of the procedural issues on the agenda of the session were discussed
and agreed upon, including a procedural calendar. An audio recording of the session
was later distributed to the parties. Minutes were drafted, signed by the President and
the Secretary of the Tribunal, and sent to the parties on 13 January 2006.
2. THE JURISDICTIONAL PHASE
2.1 The written phase on jurisdiction
59. In accordance with the timetable agreed upon during the preliminary session, on 20
February 2006, Saipem submitted its Statement of Claim accompanied by two
volumes of exhibits (Exh. C-21 to. C-84
60. Following a short extension, on 14 May 2006, Bangladesh submitted its “CounterMemorial”
containing its objections to jurisdiction accompanied by five volumes of
). Saipem did not append any witness
statement or expert opinion.
20
exhibits (Exh. R-1 to R-113
61. In accordance with the timetable agreed upon during the preliminary session, on 14
July 2006, Saipem submitted its Response on Objections to Jurisdiction accompanied
by one volume of exhibits (
) and four witness statements by Mr. Mohammed
Quamruzzaman (WS Quamruzzaman), Mr. Abdul Monsur Md. Azad (WS Azad), Mr.
Salahuddin Ahmad (WS Ahmad) and Mr. Abdur Razzaq (WS Razzaq). Mr. Razzaq’s
witness statement introduced a legal opinion on issues of Bangladeshi law, which was
accompanied by ten annexes.
Exh. C-85 to C-99
62. In line with the extension of time allowed by the Tribunal, on 18 August 2006,
Bangladesh submitted its Reply on Jurisdiction
). Saipem did not append any witness
statement or expert opinion.
9
63. On 14 September 2006, within the extension of time allowed by the Tribunal, Saipem
submitted its Rejoinder on Objections to Jurisdiction accompanied by one volume of
exhibits (
.
Exh. C-100 to C-101
2.2 The hearing on jurisdiction
), without witness statements or expert opinions.
64. The Arbitral Tribunal held the hearing on jurisdiction from 21 to 22 September 2006 in
London. It heard witness evidence from Messrs. Abdul Monsour Azad, Salahuddin
Ahmad, Abdul Razzaq and Mohammed Quamruzzaman. In addition, Mr. Hossain
presented oral argument on behalf of Bangladesh and Messrs. Crivellaro, Radicati di
Brozolo and Carta Mantiglia addressed the Tribunal on behalf of Saipem.
65. At the close of the jurisdictional hearing, it was agreed that the Tribunal would issue a
reasoned decision on jurisdiction. If the decision were to be negative, the Tribunal
would render an award terminating the arbitration. If the decision were affirmative, the
Tribunal would render a decision asserting jurisdiction and issue an order with
directions for the continuation of the procedure pursuant to Arbitration Rule 41(4).
66. On 21 March 2007, the Tribunal issued a Decision on Jurisdiction, according to which
it:
9
In the cover letter, Bangladesh announced that a Supplemental WS by Mr. Razzaq would be
filed “over the week-end”.
21
a) H[e]ld that the present dispute is within the jurisdiction of the Centre
and the competence of the Tribunal;
b) Dismiss[ed] all of the Respondent’s objections to the admissibility of the
claims, the jurisdiction of ICSID, and the competence of this Tribunal;
c) By virtue of Rule 41(4) of the Arbitration Rules, order[ed] the
continuation of the procedure pursuant to Section 15.2 of the Minutes
of the First Session;
d) Reserve[d] all questions concerning the costs and expenses of the
Tribunal and of the parties for subsequent determination.
67. In its Decision on Jurisdiction of 21 March 2007, the Tribunal “recommend[ed] that
Bangladesh take the steps necessary to ensure that Petrobangla refrain from
encashing the Warranty Bond No. PG/USD/12/92 issued by Banque Indosuez”
(referred to above at ¶ 17).
3. THE WRITTEN PHASE ON THE MERITS
68. On 25 May 2007, the Tribunal held a procedural telephone conference to discuss the
further steps to be taken in this arbitration. On the basis of this consultation, the
Tribunal issued a procedural order containing the following directions:
3. Except where amended by this Order, the procedural directions
contained in the Minutes of the First Session of the Arbitral Tribunal
shall apply to this phase of the proceedings.
4. The calendar for this phase of the proceedings shall be as follows:
i. On 25 June 2007, each Party may request the production of
documents from its opponent;
ii. On 16 July 2007, each Party shall respond to the request for
document production, if any, by either producing the document
sought or explaining the reasons for not producing such
documents;
iii. The Arbitral Tribunal will endeavor to decide on the request(s) that
remain outstanding around 10 August 2007;
iv. If the production of documents is ordered, then each Party shall
produce such documents no later than 5 September 2007. The
documents which the Arbitral Tribunal orders a party to produce,
shall be communicated to the other party and will only be deemed
part of the record if it is produced as an exhibit to the Reply or the
Rejoinder;
v. On 22 October 2007, the Claimant shall file its Reply on the Merits
[...];
vi. On 14 January 2008, the Respondent shall file its Rejoinder on the
Merits [...];
vii. On 25 January 2008, the Parties shall specify which of the
witnesses of its opponent it wishes to cross-examine at the
hearing;
22
viii. On 31 January 2008 [or on 1 February 2008], a telephone
conference will be held for the organization of the hearing. Such
telephone conference will take place at 7:30 a.m. Washington
time; 12:30 p.m. London time; 1:30 p.m. Milan time; and 6:30 p.m.
Dhaka time;
ix. A hearing on the Merits for witness examinations and presentation
of the Parties’ oral arguments will be held on 11, 12 and 13 March
2008 and, if necessary, on 14 March 2008 in London.
[…]
69. On 2 June 2007, Respondent submitted a letter addressed on 13 May 2007 by
Petrobangla to the Commercial Bank of Ceylon withdrawing the letter of demand dated
23 June 1993.
70. On 25 June 2007, each party filed a request for production of documents.
71. By procedural order of 9 August 2007, the Tribunal (i) noted that in response to the
Respondent’s request for document production Claimant produced Exhibits C-103 to
C-109 and (ii) denied all other or further reaching requests.
72. On 22 October 2007, the Claimant filed its Reply on the Merits entitled “Claimant’s
Memorial on the Merits” (the “Reply”). The Reply was accompanied by 27 legal
authorities (Exh. C-112 to C-139) and two witness statements by Mr. Lorenzo
Nassuato (WS Nassuato; Exh. C-110) and Mr. Pietro Galizzi (WS Galizzi; Exh. C-111
73. On 14 January 2008, the Respondent filed its Rejoinder on the Merits (the
“Rejoinder”). The Rejoinder was accompanied and three additional witness statements
by Mr. Mohammed Quamruzzaman (second WS Quamruzzaman), Mr. Abdul Monsur
Md. Azad (second WS Azad) and Mr. Salahuddin Ahmad (second WS Ahmad) as well
as 8 additional legal authorities.
).
74. In its Rejoinder and by letter of 25 January 2008, Bangladesh submitted that Saipem’s
witnesses should not be allowed to give evidence, which was immediately contested
by Saipem. Upon a request by the Tribunal, by letter of 30 January 2008, Saipem filed
an additional response to Bangladesh’s objection as to the witnesses.
75. On 1 February 2008, the Tribunal held a telephone conference with counsel for the
purpose of organizing the forthcoming hearing, the content of which was summarized
23
in a procedural order dated 8 February 2008. In its relevant part, the procedural order
reads as follows:
WITNESSES […]
9. At the telephone conference, the President of the Tribunal informed the
parties that the Tribunal had deliberated on the admissibility of
Saipem's witnesses and decided to allow such witnesses to give
evidence at the hearing. She added that the main reasons for this
decision were (i) that the testimonies appeared to be in response to the
argument raised in the Respondent's Counter-Memorial that Saipem
had failed to exhaust the local remedies, and (ii) that such response
was made on the first available occasion within the merits phase, i.e. in
the Reply.
10. As a result, the Tribunal will hear the following witnesses:
i. Mr. Nassuato
ii. Mr. Galizzi
iii. Mr. Azad
iv. Mr. Quamruzzaman
v. Mr. Ahmad.
11. The method of examination of the witnesses will follow the one adopted
for the first hearing, i.e.:
i. The Party having produced the witness statement will proceed
with a brief direct examination (approximately 5 to 10 minutes);
ii. The other Party will then cross-examine the witness;
iii. The Parties may then proceed with re-direct and re-cross
examination. The re-direct examination shall be limited to matters
arising out of the cross-examination, and re-cross examination
shall be limited to matters arising out of the re-direct examination;
iv. The Arbitral Tribunal may ask its questions at any time, but will
most likely do so at the end of the examination;
v. The Arbitral Tribunal will have control over the hearing and the
witness examinations.
12. All witnesses will be sequestered prior to their providing testimony at
the hearing. Thus, witnesses will not be able to attend the hearing until
after they have provided their testimony.
ORAL ARGUMENTS
13. Following the examination of the witnesses, the Parties will present oral
arguments. There will be a first round followed by a short second
round.
14. The first round will last between 2.30 and 6 hours maximum for each
Party. The second round will last approximately 0.30 minutes each.
15. If the Parties so wish, they may submit a skeleton of their oral
arguments as well as any print out of PowerPoint slides, if any, at the
time of starting their oral presentations.
16. As a rule and subject to the Tribunal asking for written submissions on
specific issues, there will be no post-hearing briefs.
24
SCHEDULE
17. March 11: all the witnesses will be heard on the first day. The hearing
will start at 9:00 a.m. and last until the examinations are completed.
18. March 12: the hearing will start at 11:00 a.m. and be devoted to the first
round of oral arguments by Claimant.
19. March 13: the hearing will start at 9:00 a.m. and be devoted to the first
round of oral arguments by Respondent, and possible questions of the
Tribunal to be addressed in the rebuttals.
20. March 14: the hearing will start at 9:00 a.m. and be devoted to rebuttal
arguments, answers to Tribunal questions, and any outstanding
procedural issues.
21. As a rule, the hearing will not end later than 5:30 p.m. on 12 and 13
March. It is anticipated that it will not end later than 12:00 on 14 March.
MISCELLANEOUS
22. The hearing will be tape recorded and a court reporter will be retained
to provide verbatim transcripts with same day delivery.
23. The parties agree that the secretary of the Tribunal need not be present
during the hearing. They further agree that Mrs Silja Schaffstein, a
doctoral student of the President residing in London, will be present
during the hearing to give any practical assistance which may be
needed. A CV of Mrs Schaffstein is attached.
24. The hearing will take place at the International Dispute Resolution
Centre (IDRC), 70 Fleet Street, London, EC4Y 1EU.
25. The parties confirmed that they do not require interpretation for any of
the witnesses.
4. THE HEARING ON THE MERITS
76. The hearing on the merits (the "Hearing") was held in London from 11 to 14 March
2008. The Hearing was tape-recorded and a verbatim transcript was taken and
delivered to the parties and the Tribunal (Tr.).
77. At the outset of the Hearing, Bangladesh submitted a motion to exclude sections 1 to 6
of Mr. Nassuato’s WS and paragraphs 2 to 5 of Mr. Galizzi’s WS. Having considered
the parties’ positions, the Tribunal decided that, in conformity with Procedural Order
No. 8, it would admit Messrs. Nassuato and Galizzi’s evidence, oral and written
only to the extent it is dealing with any facts and circumstances linked to
exhaustion of remedies, including any facts and circumstances showing the
local climate and the alleged hostility towards Saipem.
(Tr. I 35:18-37:16)
25
78. During the first part of the Hearing (Days I and II), the Tribunal heard oral testimony
from the following witnesses:
! On behalf of Saipem: (i) Mr. Nassuato and (ii) Mr. Galizzi;
! On behalf of Bangladesh: (i) Mr. Azad, (ii) Mr. Quamruzzaman and
(iii) Mr. Ahmad.
79. During the second part of the Hearing, the Tribunal heard oral arguments and rebuttal
oral arguments by Profs. Crivellaro and Radicati di Brozolo on behalf of Saipem and by
Dr. Hossain on behalf of Bangladesh.
80. Throughout the Hearing, the parties filed written notes summarizing and/or completing
their oral submissions and produced several documents which were admitted into
evidence:
! On behalf of Saipem, the Tribunal received the following documents:
" A powerpoint presentation in support of Prof. Crivellaro’s oral argument of 12
March 2008;
" Pleading notes of Prof. Radicati di Brozolo of 12 March 2008 (“RPN I”);
" Pleading notes of Prof. Radicati di Brozolo of 14 March 2008 (“RPN II”);
" A copy of the Terms of Reference in the ICC arbitration dated 6th August
1994;
" An article by Constantine PARTASIDES entitled “Solutions offered by
transnational rules in case of interference by the courts of the seat”, TDM,
Vol. 1- Issue 2- May 2004;
" Pleading notes on rebuttal of Prof. Crivellaro of 14 March 2008.
! In addition to the request to exclude parts of the Claimant’s witness statements
referred to above, Bangladesh handed over the following documents:
" "Oral submissions" of Dr. Hossain (“HPN”);
" A binder accompanying Dr. Hossain’s oral submissions including:
26
! Excerpts of legal materials concerning “Legal principles relied upon by
Bangladesh” and
! Copies of “further authorities relied upon by Bangladesh”;
" Two binders containing Bangladesh’s exhibits concerning the Bangladeshi
litigation.
" A binder containing Bangladesh’s exhibits concerning the parties contractual
relationship.
" A general chronology of the dispute;
" A chronology of the Bangladeshi litigation;
" An excerpt from POUDRET/BESSON's "Comparative Law of International
Arbitration", 2nd ed, London [etc] 2007.
81. At the end of the Hearing, the parties expressed that they were satisfied with the
manner in which the procedure had been conducted (Tr. IV 125:16-126:4). Saipem
reserved the right to file a request that the Tribunal order the filing of post-hearing
briefs (Tr. IV 125:8-11
82. The Tribunal has carefully reviewed the record and will now first examine the positions
of the parties (III), then analyse the issues deriving from those positions (IV), and set
forth the operative part of its decision (V).
), but eventually did not do so.
83. On 3 June 2009, the Tribunal closed the proceedings.
III. PARTIES’ POSITIONS
1. SAIPEM’S POSITION
84. In its written and oral submissions, Saipem has essentially put forward the following
eight main contentions:
(i) Petrobangla has resorted to the local courts which colluded with the State entity
to sabotage the ICC Arbitration and deny the foreign investor’s right to arbitrate
under the Contract and to obtain satisfaction of its claims;
27
(ii) Saipem’s right to arbitrate and more specifically its right that disputes with
Petrobangla be settled by arbitration is a contractual right or, in the words of
Article 1(e) of the BIT, a “right accruing by law or by contract” having an
economic value;
(iii) The courts of Bangladesh acted without jurisdiction and/or illegally when
revoking the ICC Tribunal’s authority while the parties had agreed on ICC
arbitration and thereby entrusted such power to the ICC Court of Arbitration and
excluded the authority of the courts at the seat of the arbitration.
(iv) The courts of Bangladesh acted illegally when revoking the ICC Tribunal on
spurious grounds.
(v) The actions of Petrobangla and of the courts of Bangladesh are attributable to
the Republic of Bangladesh.
(vi) The disputed actions amount to an illegal expropriation without compensation of
Saipem's rights to arbitration and under the Award, in violation of Article 5 of the
BIT.
(vii) The decision to revoke the ICC Tribunal’s authority and the subsequent decision
to declare the ICC Award non-existent precluded the enforcement of the award
in Bangladesh or elsewhere and thus deprived Saipem of the compensation for
the expropriation of its investment.
(viii) Since the expropriation consisted foremost in rendering a perfectly valid arbitral
award worthless and unenforceable, the loss suffered by the Claimant is the
amount awarded in the ICC Award plus whatever additional cost or damage
Saipem incurred as a consequence of the impossibility to enforce the Award
immediately.
85. On the basis of these contentions, Saipem requests the Tribunal to:
declare that the Respondent has violated its obligations under the BIT and
international law;
order the Respondent to compensate the damage caused to the Claimant in
the amount quantified in Part V, including compound interest; [that is:
(i) the amount awarded to it in the ICC Award, i.e. USD 5,883,770.80,
plus interest at the rate set out in the Award of 3.375% per annum,
28
from 7 June 1993 until 9 May 2003, viz. the date at which the
expropriation was committed;
(ii) the amounts of USD 265,000.00 and € 110,995.92 awarded to the
Claimant in the ICC Award in respect of the costs of the ICC
Arbitration and the related legal expenses plus interest;
(iii) interest on the amounts in (i) and (ii) above at the rate provided for by
Article 5 of the BIT, viz. six-month LIBOR. from 10 May 2003 to the
date of payment;
(iv) the costs, legal fees and all related expenses incurred by Saipem (a)
to defend itself in the spurious litigation commenced by Petrobangla
before the Courts of Bangladesh to derail the ICC Arbitration and to
sabotage the ICC Award; (b) the costs, legal fees and all related
expenses incurred by Saipem to defend itself in the litigation in Italy in
connection with Petrobangla's abusive attempt to call the Warranty
Bond; and (c) the costs related to maintaining the Warranty Bond
since the date when it should have been returned to Saipem, all
amounting to USD 1,120,000 (Exhibit C-29);
(v) interest on the amount under (iv) above at the six-month LIBOR BIT
rate from 31 December 2000. This date is the mid-point of the period
starting from 24 November 1997 (the date of the first interference of
the Bangladeshi judiciary) until today during which such costs were
incurred,
[…]
([v]i) the return or cancellation of the Warranty Bond dated 27 June 1992
issued by Banque Indosuez in the amount of USD 869,903.50 and
Taka 10,391,605.00 as established in the ICC Award;
or, in the event that Petrobangla obtains payment of the Warranty
Bond, the amount of the Warranty Bond, plus interest at the BIT Libor
Rate from the date at which Saipem will have to pay the amount
thereof to the Bank.]
and
order the Respondent to reimburse the Claimant for all the costs incurred
and to be incurred by it in connection with the present arbitration, including
legal fees.
(Reply, p. 41, ¶ 151 and SoC., pp. 73-75, ¶¶ 272, 274 and 275
2. BANGLADESH’S POSITION
)
86. In its written and oral submissions, Bangladesh has raised the following five main
arguments:
(i) Since the seat of the ICC Arbitration was Dhaka, the courts of Bangladesh had
jurisdiction to revoke the authority of the ICC Arbitral Tribunal;
29
(ii) The decision to revoke the authority of the ICC Tribunal was made in
accordance with the applicable standards under Article 5 of the Arbitration Act
1940;
(iii) Saipem elected not to lodge an appeal against the decision to revoke the
authority of the ICC Tribunal. It has thus deprived Bangladesh of the opportunity
to rectify alleged wrongdoings of its lower courts in connection with the ICC
Arbitration, if any;
(iv) The ICC Award was erroneous and could have been vacated on appeal;
(v) By agreeing on ICC Arbitration in Dhaka, Saipem accepted any potential failure
to enforce an ICC award in its favour in Bangladesh as a calculated business
risk.
87. In reliance on these arguments, Bangladesh invites the Tribunal to find:
(1) that Saipem had not made any investment in Bangladesh
(2) alternatively, Saipem's alleged investment rights and in particular the
ICC Award were not in fact expropriated
(3) further or alternatively, those rights alleged to have been expropriated
did not have any residual value at the date of expropriation
(4) further or alternatively, no loss or damage was caused by any of the
alleged actions of Petrobangla which can be attributed to Bangladesh
or of the Courts of Bangladesh and for which compensation is payable
[…] Bangladesh invites the Tribunal to dismiss the claim in its entirety and
render an award in its favour.
(
IV. ANALYSIS
Rejoinder, p. 44, ¶¶ 145-146)
1. INTRODUCTORY MATTERS
88. As a threshold matter, the Tribunal wishes to address the relevance of prior decisions
(1.1) and the significance of the Decision on Jurisdiction (1.2) as well as the applicable
law (1.3). It will then address some further preliminary issues, in particular the
relevance of mistakes allegedly made by the ICC Tribunal (1.4) and some evidentiary
issues (1.5). Finally, for the sake of clarity, the Tribunal will set out some
uncontroversial matters and list the issues to be analysed (1.6).
30
1.1 The relevance of previous decisions or awards
89. In support of their positions, both parties relied on previous decisions or awards, either
to conclude that the same solution should be adopted in the present case or in an
effort to explain why this Tribunal should depart from that solution.
90. The Tribunal considers that it is not bound by previous decisions10
. At the same time, it
is of the opinion that it must pay due consideration to earlier decisions of international
tribunals. It believes that, subject to compelling contrary grounds, it has a duty to adopt
solutions established in a series of consistent cases. It also believes that, subject to
the specifics of a given treaty and of the circumstances of the actual case, it has a duty
to seek to contribute to the harmonious development of investment law and thereby to
meet the legitimate expectations of the community of States and investors towards
certainty of the rule of law11
1.2 The relevance of the Decision on Jurisdiction
.
91. On 21 March 2007, the Tribunal issued its Decision on Jurisdiction, in which it held
inter alia that the present dispute was within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal. The
operative part of the Decision on Jurisdiction is quoted in the part of this award setting
out the procedural history (see above ¶ 66). For the sake of clarity, the Tribunal wishes
to emphasize that the findings and the analysis made in the Decision on Jurisdiction
are hereby incorporated by reference into the present award.
92. In its Decision on Jurisdiction, the Tribunal held in particular on a prima facie basis that
“the facts alleged by Saipem would be capable of constituting an expropriation under
Article 5 of the BIT if they were established” during the merits phase of the arbitration.
It expressly reserved its determination of the following matters for the present phase of
the arbitration:
(i) “whether the rights asserted by Saipem do exist” (Decision on Jurisdiction, ¶ 97);
10
See e.g., AES Corporation v. the Argentine Republic, ICSID Case No. ARB/02/17, Decision on
jurisdiction of 13 July 2005, ¶¶ 30-32; available at http://www.investmentclaims.com/
decisions/AES-Argentina_Jurisdiction.pdf.
11
On the precedential value of ICSID decisions, see Gabrielle Kaufmann-Kohler, Arbitral
Precedent: Dream, Necessity or Excuse?, Freshfields lecture 2006, Arbitration International
2007, pp. 368 et seq.
31
(ii) “whether or not Petrobangla and the Courts of Bangladesh actually breached the
guarantees of the BIT” (Decision on Jurisdiction, ¶ 134);
(iii) “[w]hether Saipem’s treaty claim is well-founded” (Decision on Jurisdiction,
¶ 142);
(iv) whether the disputed actions are attributable to Bangladesh (Decision on
Jurisdiction, ¶ 148).
93. By contrast and contrary to Bangladesh’s contention at the Hearing, the Tribunal did
finally determine in the Decision on Jurisdiction “1) that there was an investment by
Saipem; and 2) that the present dispute arises directly out of such investment” (Tr. III
47:3-6
94. With respect to the other challenges made by Bangladesh in respect to the Decision
on Jurisdiction (see in particular
). Indeed, these matters were determinative of the issue of jurisdiction.
Rejoinder ¶ 90
1.3 Applicable law(s)
), the Tribunal has found no indication
on record likely to change the findings made and the conclusions reached in the
Decision on Jurisdiction, assuming it had the power to make such a change.
95. The present proceedings are brought on the basis of the "Agreement Between the
Government of the Republic of Italy and the Government of the People’s Republic of
Bangladesh on the Promotion and Protection of Investments" of 20 March 1990 (the
“BIT”), which entered into force on 20 September 1994 (Exh. C-1
96. Specifically, Saipem relies upon the protection afforded by Article 5 of the BIT, which
reads as follows:
).
(2) Investments of investors of one of the Contracting Parties shall not be
directly or indirectly nationalized, expropriated, requisitioned or subjected to
any measures having similar effects in the territory of the other Contracting
Party, except for public purposes, or national interest, against immediate full
and effective compensation, and on condition that these measures are
Article 5
Nationalization or Expropriation
(1) The investments to which this Agreement relates shall not be subject
to any measure which might limit permanently or temporarily their joined
rights of ownership, possession, control or enjoyment, save where
specifically provided by law and by judgments or orders issued by Courts or
Tribunals having jurisdiction.
32
taken on a non-discriminatory basis and in conformity with all legal
provisions and procedures.
(3) The just compensation shall be equivalent to the real market value of
the investment immediately prior to the moment in which the decision to
nationalize or expropriate is announced or made public, and shall be
calculated according to internationally acknowledged evaluation standards.
Whenever there are difficulties in ascertaining the market value, the
compensation shall be calculated on the basis of a fair appraisal of the
establishment's constitutive and distinctive elements as well as of the firm's
activities components and results. Compensation shall include interest
calculated on a six-month LIBOR basis accruing from the date of
nationalization or expropriation to the date of payment. In the event of failure
to reach an agreement between the investor and the Contracting Party
having liability, the amount of the compensation shall be calculated following
the settlement of dispute procedure provided by Article 9 of this Agreement.
Once the compensation has been determined, it shall be paid promptly and
authorization for its repatriation in convertible currency issued.
97. As already mentioned in the Decision of Jurisdiction, Article 9(1) of the BIT
contemplates the possibility of recourse to the jurisdiction of ICSID with respect to
Any disputes arising between a Contracting Party and the investors of the
other, relating to compensation for expropriation, nationalization, requisition
or similar measures including disputes relating to the amount of the relevant
payments […]
98. Article 42(1) of the ICSID Convention provides the following choice of law rules:
The Tribunal shall decide a dispute in accordance with such rules of law as
may be agreed by the parties. In the absence of such agreement, the
Tribunal shall apply the law of the Contracting State party to the dispute
(including its rules on the conflict of laws) and such rules of international law
as may be applicable.
99. Since Saipem’s claim is based on Article 5 of the BIT, the Tribunal will primarily apply
the BIT as the applicable rule of international law. The Tribunal will also apply the
general rules of international law that may be applicable, either because an issue of
international law is not directly dealt with in the BIT or, if necessary, to interpret the
BIT. Pursuant to Article 12(1) of the BIT, the Tribunal will also apply general
international law where it may provide a more favourable solution than the one arising
from the BIT:
Whenever any issue is governed both by this Agreement and by another International
Agreement to which both the Contracting Parties are parties, or whenever it is
33
governed otherwise by general international law, the most favourable provisions, case
by case, shall be applied to the Contracting Parties and to their investors.
100. Moreover, pursuant to Article 42(1) of the ICSID Convention, national Bangladeshi law
may also come into play in the present arbitration, in particular when Article 5 of the
BIT itself refers to national law.
101. Finally, for the sake of completeness, the Tribunal wishes to point out that it is
undisputed that the ICC Arbitration was governed by the arbitration law of Bangladesh,
the latter being the country of the seat of the arbitration.
1.4 Are the alleged mistakes contained in the ICC Award relevant?
102. Saipem summarizes its case by indicating that the dispute before this Tribunal
relates to the expropriation by Bangladesh of (i) its right to arbitration of its
disputes with Petrobangla; (ii) the right to payment of the amounts due
under the Contract as ascertained in the ICC Award; (iii) the rights arising
under the ICC Award, including the right to obtain its recognition and
enforcement in Bangladesh and abroad; and therefore (iv) the residual value
of its investment in Bangladesh at the time of the ICC Award, consisting of
its credits under the Contract. All these matters are facets of the same
issue. The focus of the Claimant's case is that its right to payment under the
Contract as ascertained by, and incorporated in, the ICC Award has been
expropriated by the unlawful decisions of the Bangladeshi courts that
revoked the authority of the ICC arbitrators and declared the ICC Award null
and void, thus precluding its enforcement in Bangladesh or elsewhere. The
net result of all this was, obviously, to deprive the Claimant of the
compensation for [the expropriation of] its investment.
(Reply, p. 8/9, ¶ 34
103. It is Saipem’s position that the dispute before this Tribunal is not concerned with the
performance of the Contract nor with the conduct of the ICC Arbitration, but exclusively
with the illegal interference of Petrobangla and of the courts of Bangladesh with the
ICC Arbitration process and Award. Accordingly, Saipem argues that only the facts
relating to this interference have a bearing in the present context and that “the Tribunal
here is called upon simply to take the Award as a given” (
)
RPN I, p. 4; Tr. II 87:11-13
104. On the other hand, in its written and oral submissions, Bangladesh argues that the ICC
Tribunal acted wrongfully and that the ICC Award is “clearly wrong” and/or “outside the
tribunal’s jurisdiction”, in particular as it misunderstood the implications of the
Compromise. In substance, Bangladesh contends that
).
34
[i]n respect of the claim for Additional Compensation, the ICC Tribunal […]
completely failed to properly consider the effect of this correspondence
which established the Compromise as stated above. Further it failed to
consider the impact of the Compromise upon the sums paid by Petrobangla
to Saipem. Finally it failed in its deliberations to note and give effect to the
ad hoc arbitration agreement contained therein. Indeed by so doing the ICC
Tribunal went outside the scope of the arbitration agreement in the Pipeline
Contract and had no jurisdiction to deal with the sum payable under the
Compromise. This would have been another ground for revoking the
authority of the arbitrators.
It should also be noted that as far as this claim is concerned the ICC
Tribunal proceeded on the basis that there was an agreement between the
parties in the sum of US$14 million. As stated above this is clearly wrong.
The Terms of Reference shows [sic] clearly that there was no issue to be
decided by the Tribunal as to whether Saipem or Petrobangla were
responsible for the delay and whether the compensation paid to Saipem
was unconditionally due under the Compromise to Saipem.
In respect of the other three claims found by the ICC Tribunal, no issue was
raised as to why they were not paid except that in respect of the claim for
the progress payments, it mentioned the injunction granted by the
Bangladeshi court. Further, no findings were made as to the reason why
Petrobangla did not make those payments except, as stated above, the
injunction was mentioned in passing in dealing with the progress payments.
Therefore, the ICC Tribunal did not go into the issue of why the payments
were not made by Petrobangla.
(Rejoinder, pp. 16-17, ¶¶ 51-53, references omitted
105. As already mentioned, it clearly appears from the Terms of Reference (
)
Exh. R-70) and
the ICC Award (Exh. C-6 26) (see above ¶ ), a copy of which was redistributed by
Saipem at the Hearing, that the parties submitted the entire dispute to the ICC
Tribunal, including the performance or non-performance of the so-called Compromise
(Tr. II 14:10-15:15 and IV 6:7-7:16
106. Moreover, and most importantly, Petrobangla did not request (and the courts of
Bangladesh did not order) the revocation of the ICC Tribunal’s authority on these
grounds. The revocation took place well before the issuance of the ICC Award.
According to Bangladesh’s own position, the request for revocation was due to the
alleged misconduct by the Tribunal in the course of the arbitration:
).
During the ICC proceedings, Petrobangla, raised certain objections before
the ICC Tribunal regarding the conduct of the proceedings […]. These
objections being largely unsuccessful and fearing injustice, Petrobangla
then approached the Courts of Bangladesh seeking revocation of the ICC
Tribunal’s authority under Section 5 of the Arbitration Act 1940.
(Rejoinder, p. 17, ¶ 54, emphasis added)
35
107. Indeed, the Revocation Decision, which was taken in the course of the arbitration well
before the Award was rendered, was based on procedural grounds solely (see above,
¶ 40). Likewise, the decision of the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of
Bangladesh of 21 April 2004 stated that “there is no Award in the eye of the law” was
exclusively based on the ground that “it appears that the authority of the Arbitral
Tribunal to proceed with the Arbitration Case No. 7934/CK/AER/ACS/MS has been
revoked on 5.4.2000” (see above, ¶ 50). It did not make any reference to alleged
deficiencies in the ICC Award in connection with the scope of its jurisdiction and the
merits of the dispute.
108. For these reasons, the fact that some of the findings of the ICC Award “would have
been another ground for revoking the authority of the arbitrators” (Rejoinder, p. 16,
¶ 51
23
) as well as the facts developed in paragraphs 15 to 34 of the Rejoinder (see
above ¶ ) are not directly relevant to determine whether the intervention of the
courts was lawful.
109. Bangladesh further argues that Saipem’s case “assumes the validity of the ICC Award,
which the Respondent strongly disputes” (Rejoinder, p. 25, ¶ 82
Saipem is asking the ICSID tribunal to rubberstamp the ICC award, thereby
converting it into an ICSID award, in order to bypass the correct method of
enforcement of an ICC award. Saipem is thereby trying to take advantage
of:
(1) the more favourable means of enforcement of an ICSID award;
(2) trying to have a second attempt at enforcing the ICC award;
(3) trying to mutate the Dhaka-ICC arbitration mechanism into a
delocalised one to avoid any potential domestic Bangladesh annulment
proceedings.
(
; Bangladesh had
developed this argument in order to show that the ICC Award was not an investment).
This argument echoes Bangladesh’s position at the jurisdictional stage that
Counter-Memorial, p. 59
110. As already stated in the Decision on Jurisdiction, the Tribunal understands Saipem’s
case to be that Bangladesh frustrated its rights by unlawfully interfering in the
arbitration process. The fact that the reparation claimed in this arbitration is by and
large equivalent to the amounts awarded in the ICC Arbitration, does not in and of itself
mean that this Tribunal would “enforce” the ICC Award in the event of a treaty breach.
)
36
1.5 Evidentiary issues
1.5.1 Press clippings attached to Mr. Nassuato’s WS
111. At the Hearing, the Tribunal decided that “the admissibility of the press clippings
[attached to Mr. Nassuato’s WS] [would] be dealt with in the award (Tr. IV 124:20-21
1.5.2 Burden and standard of proof
).
The issue will be addressed below when discussing Mr. Nassuato’s testimony.
112. Pursuant to ICSID Arbitration Rule 34(1), the Tribunal has full discretion in assessing
the probative value of the evidence before it.
113. The Tribunal accepts Bangladesh’s position, based inter alia on Tradex v. Albania12
,
that “[t]he burden rests upon Saipem to prove the necessary elements of its claim” (Tr.
III 50:11-12]). It is a well-established rule in international adjudication that the burden of
proof lies with the party alleging a fact, whether it is the claimant or the respondent13
114. With respect to the standard of proof, it is Bangladesh’s submission “that the standard
of proof is proof on a balance of probabilities” (
.
Indeed, Saipem did not take issue with this rule.
Rejoinder p. 21, ¶ 69), being
understood that “the standard for criminal acts, such as conspiracy and collusion of
State judiciary, will be held to a higher standard […] namely beyond reasonable doubt”
(Id. p. 33 ¶ 107). Saipem did not dispute this submission. The Tribunal will dispense
with making a final ruling on the allegedly more stringent standard to prove conspiracy
and/or collusion, since such a finding is not necessary in the present context.
12
Tradex Hellas SA v. Albania, ICSID No. ARB/94/2 Award of 29 April 1999, at ¶¶ 75, 91, 112
and 197.
13
Feldman v. Mexico, ICSID Case No. ARB(AF)/99/1, Award, 16 December 2002, ¶ 177; Soufraki
v. UAE, ICSID Case No. ARB/02/7, Award, 7 July 2004, ¶¶ 58, 81; Thunderbird v. Mexico
(UNCITRAL), Award, 26 January 2006, ¶ 95; Saipem v. Bangladesh, ICSID Case No.
ARB/05/7, Decision on Jurisdiction, 21 March 2007, ¶ 83. See also the ICJ in: Case concerning
Avena and other Mexican Nationals, (Mexico v. United States of America), Judgment, 31 March
2004, ICJ Reports 2004, p. 41, ¶¶ 55-57; Military and Paramilitary Activities in and Against
Nicaragua, (Nicaragua v. United States of America), Judgment, 26 November 1984, ICJ
Reports 1984, p. 437, ¶ 101, See also Article 24(1) of the 1976 UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules.
37
1.6 Uncontroversial matters and issues
115. It is undisputed, and rightly so, that (i) the parties have freely agreed to the choice of
Dhaka as the seat of the ICC Arbitration, (ii) Bangladeshi arbitration law is thus
applicable to the arbitration, and (iii) as a matter of principle, the courts of Bangladesh
have supervisory jurisdiction over the arbitration.
116. The primary issue in the present arbitration is whether the intervention of the courts of
Bangladesh remained within the limits of their supervisory jurisdiction and whether that
intervention amounted to an expropriation (see below Section 2).
117. To answer this question in light of the parties’ submissions, the Tribunal will have to
address the following main sub-issues:
(i) Did Bangladesh’s actions meet the general conditions of an expropriation (see
below Section 2.1)?
(ii) Are the disputed actions of the courts of Bangladesh illegal (see below Section
2.2)?
(iii) Did Saipem have to exhaust local remedies (see below Section 2.3)?
(iv) Did Saipem accept the risk of the revocation of the arbitrators’ authority by
agreeing to Dhaka as the seat of the arbitration (see below Section 2.4)?
(v) Are the disputed actions attributable to Bangladesh (see below Section 2.5)?
118. Should the Panel find that the actions of the courts of Bangladesh constitute an illegal
expropriation, the Tribunal will have then to determine the following additional issues:
(i) What is the amount of the compensation due (see below Section 3)?
(ii) Is there a causative link between the damages claimed by Saipem and the
expropriation (see below Section 4)?
119. In any event, the Tribunal will have to rule on costs (see below Section 5).
38
2. DO THE DISPUTED ACTIONS CONSTITUTE AN “EXPROPRIATION” WITHIN THE MEANING OF
ARTICLE 5 OF THE BIT?
120. It is Saipem’s case that the disputed actions amount to an expropriation without
compensation of Saipem's rights to arbitration and to the Award, in violation of Article 5
of the BIT. More particularly Saipem contends that it is deprived of
(i) its right to arbitration of its disputes with Petrobangla; (ii) the right to
payment of the amounts due under the Contract as ascertained in the ICC
Award; (iii) the rights arising under the ICC Award, including the right to
obtain its recognition and enforcement in Bangladesh and abroad; and
therefore (iv) the residual value of its investment in Bangladesh at the time
of the ICC Award, consisting of its credits under the Contract. All these
matters are facets of the same issue. The focus of the Claimant's case is
that its right to payment under the Contract as ascertained by, and
incorporated in, the ICC Award has been expropriated by the unlawful
decisions of the Bangladeshi Courts that revoked the authority of the ICC
arbitrators and declared the ICC Award null and void, thus precluding its
enforcement in Bangladesh or elsewhere. The net result of all this was,
obviously, to deprive the Claimant of the compensation for its investment.
121. Upon a direct question by the Tribunal at the Hearing, Saipem confirmed that its “claim
is for expropriation” (Tr. II 136:12
Saipem does consider that the misconduct of the domestic courts did also
amount to a denial of justice, at least in the form of a "Prevention from
arbitrating", or, "Obstruction of the agreed mechanism for the settlement of
the disputes arising from the contract".
However, Article 9.1 of the BIT does not confer to your Tribunal jurisdiction
over a claim based on denial of justice, and restricts your jurisdiction to a
claim for expropriation. This is why we did not bring a claim on the ground of
denial of justice before you.
Second, Saipem does equally consider that through the misbehaviours of
Petrobangla (a State organ) and its courts, Bangladesh has certainly,
according to us, undoubtedly treated Saipem unfairly and inequitably, and in
a manner that is below the standard required by international law. However,
again, Article 9.1 of the BIT does not confer to your Tribunal jurisdiction over
a claim based on breach of the standard of treatment, in particular of the fair
and equitable treatment, restricts your jurisdiction to expropriation.
(
), although several references were made to fair and
equitable treatment and denial of justice in the course of the proceedings. It explained
that
Tr. IV 18:25-19:23
122. In its Decision on Jurisdiction, the Tribunal has already held that the right to arbitrate
and the rights determined by the Award are capable in theory of being expropriated. It
)
39
added that “whether or not Petrobangla and the courts of Bangladesh actually
breached the guarantees of the BIT is a question to be determined with the merits of
the dispute”.
123. To answer this question, the Tribunal will first set out the general conditions of
expropriation (2.1) and then discuss the problematic conditions in the present case,
i.e., the so-called illegality of the expropriation (2.2), the need to exhaust local
remedies (2.3), and whether Saipem had accepted the risk of revocation of the
arbitrators’ authority by agreeing to Dhaka as the seat of the arbitration (2.4). Finally,
the Tribunal will discuss whether the exproriatory act can be attributed to Bangladesh
and thus engage Bangladesh's responsibility under the BIT (2.5).
2.1 The general conditions of expropriation
124. In its relevant parts, Article 5 of the BIT reads as follows:
125. In other words, the guarantee against expropriation of Article 5(2) only comes into play
if (i) there is an expropriation and (ii) that expropriation is not justified by "public
purposes" or "national interest", does not conform to "all legal provisions and
procedures", is not adequately compensated, or is discriminatory.
Article 5
Nationalization or Expropriation
(1) The investments to which this Agreement relates shall not be subject to
any measure which might limit permanently or temporarily their joined
rights of ownership, possession, control or enjoyment, save where
specifically provided by law and by judgments or orders issued by
Courts or Tribunals having jurisdiction.
(2) Investments of investors of one of the Contracting Parties shall not be
directly or indirectly nationalized, expropriated, requisitioned or
subjected to any measures having similar effects in the territory of the
other Contracting Party, except for public purposes, or national interest,
against immediate full and effective compensation, and on condition
that these measures are taken on a non-discriminatory basis and in
conformity with all legal provisions and procedures.
126. In the present case, the debate has hinged upon the existence of an expropriation in
the meaning of the BIT. It has not focused on the conditions of a lawful or admissible
expropriation. In particular, Bangladesh did not claim that the intervention of the local
courts was driven by public purposes or national interest, and it is common ground that
no compensation was paid. Hence, the question that the Tribunal must answer is
40
whether the disputed actions constitute an expropriation within the meaning of Article 5
of the BIT. This presupposes that “property” has been “taken” by the State.
127. It is Saipem’s position that “an illegal action of the judiciary which has the effect of
depriving an investor of its contractual or vested rights constitutes an expropriation
which engages the State’s international responsibility” (SoC., p. 52, ¶ 196). This
position relies on the presently prevailing view pursuant to which any interference with
the exercise of property (or “expropriable” rights), however defined, can amount to an
expropriation, including indirect and de facto expropriation, provided that the
deprivation is irreversible (see the authorities quoted in SoC., pp. 61-65, ¶¶ 230-244
128. Turning first to the identification of the property at stake, the Tribunal considers that the
allegedly expropriated property is Saipem’s residual contractual rights under the
investment as crystallised in the ICC Award (see Decision on Jurisdiction, ¶ 127).
Bangladesh has not put forward convincing arguments that such rights should not be
considered expropriable rights.
).
129. In respect of the taking, the actions of the Bangladeshi courts do not constitute an
instance of direct expropriation, but rather of “measures having similar effects” within
the meaning of Article 5(2) of the BIT. Such actions resulted in substantially depriving
Saipem of the benefit of the ICC Award. This is plain in light of the decision of the
Bangladeshi Supreme Court that the ICC Award is “a nullity”. Such a ruling is
tantamount to a taking of the residual contractual rights arising from the investments as
crystallised in the ICC Award. As such, it amounts to an expropriation within the
meaning of Article 5 of the BIT.
130. It is true that one could object – Bangladesh did not – that in theory Saipem can still
benefit from the ICC Award (or from the ICC arbitration agreement). Yet, Bangladesh
itself acknowledges that Petrobangla has “no assets outside Bangladesh” (CounterMemorial,
¶ 5.24, p. 65). Hence, the perspective that the ICC Award could possibly be
enforced under the New York Convention outside Bangladesh despite having been
declared “a nullity” by the Bangladeshi courts has no realistic basis. Because, by the
Respondent's own admission, the ICC Award could not be enforced outside
Bangladesh, the intervention of the Bangladeshi courts culminating in the declaration
of the Supreme Court that the ICC Award was “non-existent” substantially deprived
Saipem of its rights and thus qualifies as a taking.
41
131. In contrast to the actions of the courts, the conduct of Petrobangla does not qualify as
a "taking". Indeed, it is generally accepted that an act must be governmental in nature
to constitute an expropriation. In other words, only acts of the government that cannot
be performed by private parties can constitute an expropriation14
132. As a result, the only actions at stake in the present arbitration are those of the courts of
Bangladesh. The parties’ main disagreement with respect to these actions revolves
around two questions, i.e., whether the disputed actions were “illegal” (2.2) and
whether they were “irreversible” (2.3).
. In the present case,
it is undisputable that Petrobangla did not act in a governmental capacity in connection
with the ICC proceedings. Therefore, Petrobangla’s actions in the course of the ICC
proceedings, whether justified or not, cannot amount to an expropriation.
2.2 Are the disputed actions illegal?
133. As a preliminary matter, the Tribunal wishes to emphasize that according to the socalled
“sole effects doctrine”, the most significant criterion to determine whether the
disputed actions amount to indirect expropriation or are tantamount to expropriation is
the impact of the measure. As a matter of principle, case law considers that there is
expropriation if the deprivation is substantial15
129
, as it is in the present case (see above
¶¶ ). That said, given the very peculiar circumstances of the present interference,
the Tribunal agrees with the parties that the substantial deprivation of Saipem’s ability
to enjoy the benefits of the ICC Award is not sufficient to conclude that the
Bangladeshi courts’ intervention is tantamount to an expropriation. If this were true,
any setting aside of an award could then found a claim for expropriation, even if the
setting aside was ordered by the competent state court upon legitimate grounds.
134. In effect, both parties consider that the actions of (or the actions attributable to)
Bangladesh must be "illegal" in order to give rise to a claim of expropriation. They have
devoted a major part of their submissions to the issue of illegality. For the sake of
14
See for instance Consortium R.F.C.C. v. Kingdom of Morocco, ICSID Case No. ARB/00/6,
Award, 22 December 2003, available at http://ita.law.uvic.ca/documents/ConsortiumRFCCAward_000.pdf.;
SGS Société Générale de Surveillance S.A. v. Republic of the Philippines
ICSID Case No. ARB/02/6, Decision on Jurisdiction, 29 January 2004, 8 ICSID Reports 518,
¶ 161; Waste Management, Inc. v. United Mexican States, ICSID Case No. ARB(AF)/00/3,
Award, 30 April 2004, 43 ILM (2004) 967, ¶¶ 174-175; Impregilo S.p.A. v. Pakistan, ICSID Case
No. ARB/03/3, Decision on Jurisdiction, 22 April 2005, 12 ICSID Reports 245, ¶ 281.
15
See for instance Compañía del Desarrollo de Santa Elena, S.A. v. Republic of Costa Rica
ICSID Case No. ARB/96/1, Award of 17 February 2000, 5 ICSID Reports 153, at 77-78.
42
clarity, the Tribunal emphasizes that the following analysis should not be understood
as a departure from the “sole effects doctrine”. It is due to the particular circumstances
of this dispute and to the manner in which the parties have pleaded their case, both
being in agreement that the unlawful character of the actions was a necessary
condition.
135. It is Saipem’s case that several illegal acts were performed by Petrobangla, and/or by
the courts of Bangladesh, and/or as the result of collusion between Petrobangla and
the courts. Having held that Petrobangla’s actions did not involve the exercise of
governmental authority, the Tribunal will limit its enquiry to the acts of the Bangladeshi
courts.
136. Saipem submits that the intervention of the courts with respect to the revocation of the
arbitrators, was unlawful for two main reasons: the courts lacked jurisdiction to revoke
the authority of the ICC Tribunal (2.2.1), and they decided the revocation on spurious
grounds (Tr. IV 45:13-18) (2.2.2). The decision of the Supreme Court declaring the
award inexistent “built on an earlier patent and very serious illegality which would have
been very easy to ascertain, thereby further compounding the illegality of the conduct
of the judiciary as a whole” (SoC. p. 29, ¶ 117
2.2.1 The courts’ jurisdiction to revoke the authority of the ICC Arbitral Tribunal
) (2.2.3).
137. According to Saipem, the first reason why the courts’ intervention leading to the
revocation of the ICC Tribunal was illegal is that the courts of Bangladesh violated the
fundamental principle of party autonomy by asserting jurisdiction over the revocation
(Tr. II 96:25-97:1)16
138. As already mentioned, it is undisputable that Article 2.8 of the ICC Rules required the
parties to the arbitration to resort to the ICC for matters of revocation. That said, while
binding on the parties, the ICC Rules are not binding upon national courts. Hence, the
Tribunal fails to see how the assertion of jurisdiction by the courts of Bangladesh can
be deemed illegal on this ground. Indeed, it is generally accepted that national
arbitration law can provide for a solution which is different from the ICC Rules. For
instance, as mentioned by both parties, Dutch arbitration law provides that the local
.
16
See also Reply, p. 12, ¶¶ 41-42: the “scandalous decision of 5 April 2000 which revoked the
ICC Tribunal's authority” is “plainly illegal under the principles of international arbitration, the
agreement of the parties and Bangladeshi law itself” (emphasis added).
43
courts have mandatory jurisdiction over a challenge and revocation of the authority of
arbitrators and no one would think of claiming that the courts of the Netherlands
breach international law by asserting jurisdiction over a request to challenge or revoke
an ICC arbitrator.
139. Another question is whether the intervention of the courts of Bangladesh may be
regarded as illegal because the courts did not have jurisdiction under the Bangladeshi
Arbitration Act of 1940 (BAA). Article 5 BAA, which is the pertinent provision, reads as
follows:
The authority of the appointed Arbitrator or umpire shall not be revocable
except by leave of the court, unless a contrary intention is expressed in the
arbitration agreement.
140. The parties disagree on the interpretation of this provision and in particular on the
meaning of the phrase “unless a contrary intention is expressed”. Saipem asserts that
“a contrary intention is the one to confer jurisdiction on this matter to the body that the
parties have chosen [here the ICC Court of arbitration]” (Tr. II 97:13-16). By contrast,
Bangladesh posits that “the ‘unless’ provision would only apply to give the concurrent
jurisdiction to someone else” but “would not exclude the jurisdiction of the Bangladesh
courts” (Tr. III 165:3-8
141. At the Hearing, Saipem argued that even if the jurisdiction of the local courts is
concurrent with the one of the ICC Court, as submitted by Bangladesh, “the[ir]
supervisory role is subsidiary, i.e., it can be exercised only after the contractually
agreed method has been exhausted”. According to Saipem, the exclusion of the
recourse to the ICC Court of Arbitration – as it exists for instance under Dutch law –
constitutes an exception to the paramount principle of party autonomy and thus needs
to be “spelled out clearly by the law”, which is not the case of Bangladeshi law (
). In other words, Saipem views the authority of the ICC Court as
exclusive, while Bangladesh considers it to be concurrent with the jurisdiction of the
courts at the seat of the arbitration.
RPN II,
¶¶ 13-14, Tr. IV 42:17-25)17
142. The Tribunal is sympathetic towards Saipem’s position, in particular in light of the
emphasis that the courts of Bangladesh usually put on party autonomy when dealing
with arbitration in general and with challenges of arbitrators in particular. Indeed, as
.
17
See also SoC., p. 30, ¶ 123.
44
correctly pointed out by Saipem, the precedent quoted by Bangladesh in these
proceedings seems to confirm that Bangladeshi courts acknowledge the principle of
sanctity of contract including when it comes to disqualifying an arbitrator18
143. That said, Bangladesh is right that the interpretation of Article 5 BAA is a matter of
Bangladeshi law and that Saipem has produced no expert opinion to rebut
Mr. Razzaq’s expert evidence pursuant to which
.
19
The Arbitration Act 1940 applies when the seat of arbitration is in
Bangladesh. […]
[…] if in an arbitration proceeding taking place in Bangladesh under the ICC
Rules, it appears to a party that the arbitrators are biased or otherwise guilty
of misconduct, he may by an application under section 5 of the Arbitration
Act, 1940 seek revocation of his authority. It does not matter whether the
arbitration is being conducted according to the Rules of the ICC or any other
law and whether parties had failed to specifically mention that the arbitration
was to be conducted in accordance with the Act of 1940.
(
:
Legal Opinion on Issues on Bangladeshi Law accompanying Mr. Razzaq’s
WS, pp. 16-17, ¶¶ 7.2 and 7.5
144. For these reasons, the Tribunal considers that it is not established that the ICC Court’s
authority as regards revocation is exclusive under the applicable Bangladeshi law.
)
2.2.2 The “merits” of the courts’ decision to revoke the authority of the arbitrators
145. Saipem further contends that, irrespective of whether the courts of Bangladesh were
right in asserting jurisdiction to hear the challenge brought by Petrobangla, they acted
in severe contrast with all universally accepted rules regarding international arbitration,
the New York Convention and other principles of international law as well as the law of
Bangladesh itself. Both parties accept that it would have been illegal for the
Bangladeshi courts to conspire and collude with Petrobangla to sabotage the ICC
Arbitration against Saipem (a). The Tribunal considers that, among the general
principles of law that come into play, the principle of the prohibition of abuse of rights
deserves special attention in the present instance (b). It will also discuss the merits of
18
See for instance Bhuwalaka v. Fathebobant, attached to Mr. Razzaq’s supplementary
statement, in particular the passage at. p. 294, also restated in Reply, ¶ 72, p. 20).
19
Nor did Mr. Ahmad under cross-examination depart from his statement that there is an “option"
to bring the question of the arbitrators’ revocation either before the ICC or before the local
courts (Tr. I 252:25-254:5).
45
the court’s decision to revoke the authority of the ICC Tribunal under the general
principles of international arbitration (c) and the New York Convention (d).
a) Conspiracy and collusion
146. As a preliminary matter, the Tribunal needs to deal with Saipem’s allegation that
Petrobangla acted in collusion with the Bangladeshi courts and/or conspired with them.
The Tribunal notes that Saipem does not point to any specific evidence establishing
such conspiracy or collusion. Ultimately, Saipem relies exclusively20
on the following
chronology of events (Tr. I 43:6-44:11
! Petrobangla raised its procedural motions at a very precise moment in time,
namely between 22 and 25 July 1997. Following the ICC Tribunal’s refusal,
Petrobangla reiterated its applications on 26 August 1997.
):
! The ICC Tribunal rejected these once again on 21 September 1997.
! Less than two months later, on 16 November 1997, Petrobangla resorted to the
local courts claiming misconduct and requesting a stay of the arbitration and/or
the revocation of the arbitrators.
! About one week later, Petrobangla obtained an injunction based on arbitral
misconduct.
147. In the Tribunal’s view, this chronology only indicates that there is an obvious nexus
between Petrobangla’s dissatisfaction with the ICC Arbitration and its actions before
the Bangladeshi courts. The fact that the Bangladeshi courts eventually ruled in favour
of Petrobangla does not in and of itself constitute evidence of conspiracy or collusion.
After all, as convincingly pointed out by Bangladesh, the courts refused the orders
sought by Petrobangla on at least two occasions (Counter-Memorial, ¶ 2.81, p. 39). In
fact, at the end of the Hearing, Saipem was merely “inclined to believe that there were
both conspiracy and collusion” (Tr. IV 27:13-15
20
At the beginning of the Hearing, Saipem stated that it had "several proofs, or at least strong
indications [of collusion and conspiracy between Petrobangla and the courts]”. In addition to the
"chronology and timing” discussed in this paragraph, Saipem evoked “the absolute innocence
of the Tribunal, […] the lack of jurisdiction of the local judiciary [and] the[ir] biased conduct” (Tr.
I 43:20-44:5). It is unclear how these allegations can establish more than the mere fact that the
courts were wrong.
).
46
148. In conclusion, irrespective of the applicable standard of proof (see above ¶ 114), the
Tribunal is not satisfied that the Bangladeshi courts acted in collusion or conspired with
Petrobangla.
b) Abuse of right
149. Saipem argues that international law requires state courts to abide by “generally
accepted standards of the administration of justice” and that “grossly unfair […]
arbitrary, unjust or idiosyncratic” court rulings constitute a violation of international law
(SoC. pp. 54-55, ¶¶ 207-209). Saipem has referred to a convincing line of cases and
doctrinal opinions21
150. Bangladesh did not contest being under such an international obligation but rather
asserted that “Saipem must prove on the facts that there was a ‘clear and malicious
misapplication of the law’” by the Bangladeshi courts (see for instance
that confirm the emergence of such a general principle.
HPN ¶ 33) or, in
other words, that Saipem has the burden “to prove that the decision was manifestly
abusive” (Tr. III 83:14-15) “to achieve an internationally unlawful end, such that the
courts themselves are to be disavowed at international level” (Tr. III 103:12-20
151. It is Saipem’s submission that the Revocation Decision violates international law as it
applied a spurious standard (
).
Tr. IV 121:11-122:2) and was rendered “without making
any proper investigation whether Petrobangla’s accusation were founded” (Tr. IV
24:18-22
152. The analysis of the Revocation Decision shows that Petrobangla’s counsel argued that
the ICC Tribunal had “committed manifest error of law” that “would detract from the
fairness of the procedure” (
).
Exh. C-11. p. 22) and that the judge explicitly held that the
ICC Tribunal had “manifestly committed in disregard to [sic] the law and as such the
tribunal committed misconduct” (Exh. C-11. p. 23
21
Including in particular S. M. SCHWEBEL, Anti-Suit Injunctions in International Arbitration: An
Overview, in Anti-Suit Injunctions in International Arbitration (E. Gaillard, editor), IAI
(International Arbitration Institute) Series on International Arbitration, no. 2, Juris Publishing,
2004; also E. GAILLARD, L'interférence des juridictions du siège dans le déroulement de
l'arbitrage, in Liber Amicorum Claude Raymond, Paris 2004, p. 91; Salini Costruttori Sp.A v.
The Federal Republic of Ethiopia (ICC Case No. 10623/AER/ACS), Award regarding the
suspension of the proceedings and jurisdiction of 7 December 2001, 42 ILM 609 (2003) and 21
ASA Bulletin 82 (2003), ¶¶ 130-131.
). Specifically, the High Court of
Dhaka was based on the ICC Tribunal’s rejection of four of the procedural motions of
Petrobangla referred to above (see above ¶ 31):
47
(i) Petrobangla’s request “for excluding from the record the witness statement of
[Mr.] J.R. Clark on the ground that he would not be produced before the Tribunal
for cross-examination” (Exh. C-11, p. 6), which request was rejected by the ICC
Tribunal’s Procedural Order of 22 July 1997 (reproduced at ¶ 48 of the ICC
Award, Exh C-6, pp. 19-20)
(ii) Petrobangla’s request “that the Draft Aide Memoire of the World Bank and the
appropriate calculations of costs and expenses [contained therein] may not be
treated as part of the evidence in the proceeding” because it was not “proved by
any witness” and did not fall “within the category of documentary evidence which
does not require for a man proof” (
.
Exh. C-11, pp. 7-8), which request was denied
by the ICC Tribunal’s Procedural Order of 26 July 1997 (reproduced at ¶ 49 of
the ICC Award, Exh C-6, p. 20)
(iii) Petrobangla’s request to hear some questions regarding the insurance policy
(
.
Exh. C-11, p. 8), which request was denied by the ICC Tribunal’s Procedural
Order of 21 September 1997 (reproduced at ¶ 53 of the ICC Award, Exh. C-6, p.
22)
(iv) Petrobangla’s request that “written transcripts of the evidence” be taken during
the hearing (
.
Exh. C-11, pp. 8-9), which request was denied by the ICC Tribunal’s
Procedural Order of 28 July 1997 (reproduced at ¶ 50 of the ICC Award, Exh. C-
6, pp. 21-22)
153. It is Saipem’s position that the Revocation Decision is unacceptable under international
law since the ICC Tribunal's procedural orders denying Petrobangla’s objections “were
perfectly well reasoned and entirely justified in the light of the facts of the case and of
international arbitration rules and practice” (
.
Reply, p. 10, ¶ 39
154. It is clear from the wording of the Revocation Decision that Saipem made extensive
submissions to the Bangladeshi court to show that the ICC “arbitrators have acted
within their jurisdiction and also in a correct manner” (
).
Exh. C-11, pp. 10-15 and 19-21,
in particular 11
155. Having carefully reviewed the procedural orders referred to in the Revocation Decision
as the cause of the ICC Tribunal’s misconduct, the Tribunal did not find the slightest
trace of error or wrongdoing. Under these circumstances, the finding of the Court that
).
48
the arbitrators “committed misconduct” lacks any justification. As emphasized by
Saipem at the Hearing, if one carefully studies the Revocation Decision of 2 April 2000,
one fails to see any reference whatsoever to the law that was allegedly “manifest[ly]
disregard[ed]”. By way of consequence, it is unfounded to then infer from such an illfounded
finding of misconduct that “there is a likelihood of miscarriage of justice”.
Equally unfounded is the consequence drawn by the Court when declaring the
revocation of the authority of the ICC Tribunal. This declaration can only be viewed as
a grossly unfair ruling.
156. The Tribunal is reinforced in that conclusion by the fact that Bangladesh does not
criticize in these proceedings the conduct of the ICC Arbitral Tribunal. As convincingly
stressed by Saipem at the Hearing, Bangladesh does not even try to show that the ICC
Arbitrators’ conduct was somehow inappropriate, illegitimate or unfair. To the contrary,
Bangladesh tries to justify the decision to revoke the authority of the ICC Tribunal
exclusively on the ground that the test set forth in Article 5 of the BAA is not stringent
and leaves the authority free to extrapolate that the arbitrators may be likely to commit
a miscarriage of justice. In none of its submissions in the present arbitration did
Bangladesh even attempt to show that the ICC Tribunal committed misconduct and
that such alleged misconduct could reasonably justify the revocation of the arbitrators.
157. Furthermore, inasmuch as the limited contents of the Revocation Decision allow to
draw any conclusion as to the reasons of the Court, the Tribunal cannot but agree with
Saipem that the judge “simply took as granted what Petrobangla falsely presented” (Tr.
II 57:12-13
158. Finally, the Tribunal notes that there is no indication in the record that the ICC
Arbitrators were at any time consulted, let alone heard, by the courts of Bangladesh
during the process leading to the decision revoking their authority.
).
159. For all these reasons, the Tribunal considers that the Bangladeshi courts abused their
supervisory jurisdiction over the arbitration process. It is true that the revocation of an
arbitrator’s authority can legitimately be ordered in case of misconduct. It is further true
that in making such order national courts do have substantial discretion. However, they
cannot use their jurisdiction to revoke arbitrators for reasons wholly unrelated with
such misconduct and the risks it carries for the fair resolution of the dispute. Taken
49
together, the standard for revocation used by the Bangladesh courts and the manner in
which the judge applied that standard to the facts indeed constituted an abuse of right.
160. It is generally acknowledged in international law that a State exercising a right for a
purpose that is different from that for which that right was created commits an abuse of
rights22
. The same principle is expressed in another way by prominent commentators
referred to by both parties (Reply, p. 25, ¶ 89 and Rejoinder p. 27, ¶ 88
We believe that the lex arbitri constitutes the primary legal basis for the
effectiveness of the arbitration agreement and the arbitrators do not have a
discretionary power to disregard injunctions issued by the courts at the seat
of the arbitration. To the contrary, they should obey such decision, unless
they are manifestly abusive
):
23
161. In conclusion, the Tribunal is of the opinion that the Bangladeshi courts exercised their
supervisory jurisdiction for an end which was different from that for which it was
instituted and thus violated the internationally accepted principle of prohibition of abuse
of rights.
.
c) Violation of the principles of international arbitration
162. Saipem contends that “[t]he illegal decisions of the Bangladeshi judiciary are the most
serious violations of general principles of international arbitration” (Reply, p. 24, ¶ 86).
That contention is based in particular on the doctrinal writings referred to above,
according to which arbitrators are allowed to disregard decisions by the courts having
supervisory jurisdiction if their intervention is “manifestly abusive”24
. Hence, the
Tribunal considers that Saipem’s argument does not have an independent bearing in
the present arbitration and has already been taken into account in the framework of the
prohibition of the abuse of rights.
22
See for instance ALEXANDRE KISS, "Abuse of Rigths", in Berhadt (Ed), Encyclopedia of Public
International Law, Vol 1. at 5.
23
POUDRET/BESSON, op. cit. at ¶ 80, p. 117 [Exhibit C-116], emphasis added.
24
Id.
50
d) Violation of the New York Convention?
163. According to Saipem, the intervention of the courts of Bangladesh “amounted purely
and simply to a flouting of the arbitration agreement in violation of Bangladesh’s
obligation under Article II of the New York Convention” (SoC. p. 53, ¶ 200
164. In response, Bangladesh essentially considers that the New York Convention is not
applicable since the arbitration agreement is governed by the Arbitration Act 1940
(
).
Rejoinder, p. 37, ¶ 122). At the Hearing, Bangladesh expanded on its argument and
posited that the New York Convention does not directly apply to the arbitration since
Bangladesh has not yet adopted national legislation incorporating the Convention into
national law. Hence, according to Bangladesh, the New York Convention “just remains
a Treaty obligation between States” (Tr. IV 90:10-13). The Respondent also stated that
the New York Convention only deals with the intervention of the courts in respect of the
merits of the dispute and expressly reserves the supervisory jurisdiction of
Bangladeshi courts (Tr. IV 96:10-17
165. Be this as it may, the Tribunal understands that Bangladesh does not dispute being
bound by the New York Convention. The fact that the latter may not be applicable in
domestic courts as a matter of national law is irrelevant. Indeed, a breach of the
Convention would still engage Bangladesh's international responsibility. This is clear
from Article 27 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, which provides that
“[a] party may not invoke the provisions of its internal law as justification for its failure
to perform a treaty”. It also follows from Article 3 of the International Law Commission’s
Articles on State Responsibility for Internationally Wrongful Acts (the “ILC Articles”),
pursuant to which “[t]he characterization of an act of a State as internationally wrongful
is governed by international law. Such characterization is not affected by the
characterization of the same act as lawful by internal law”. Both provisions are
declaratory of customary international law.
; see also ¶ 172 below).
166. Bangladesh is right that Article II(3) of the New York Convention requires courts of
member states to refer the parties to arbitration “when seized of an action in a matter
in respect of which the parties have made an [arbitration] agreement”. However,
Article II(1) of the New York Convention imposes on Bangladesh a wider obligation to
“recognize” arbitration agreements.
51
167. Based on that obligation, it is for instance generally acknowledged that the issuance of
an anti-arbitration injunction can amount to a violation of the principle embedded in
Article II of the New York Convention. One could think that the present case is
different, however, from an anti-arbitration injunction25
. Technically, the courts of
Bangladesh did not target the arbitration or the arbitration agreement in itself, but
revoked the authority of the arbitrators. However, it is the Tribunal’s opinion that a
decision to revoke the arbitrators’ authority can amount to a violation of Article II of the
New York Convention whenever it de facto “prevents or immobilizes the arbitration that
seeks to implement that [arbitration] agreement” thus completely frustrating if not the
wording at least the spirit of the Convention26
168. This conclusion is supported by the fact that in this case several Bangladeshi courts
issued injunctions against the continuation of the ICC Arbitration (see above ¶¶
. This is indeed what happened here.
46-47),
thus de facto frustrating the arbitration agreement.
169. Finally, one should mention that, as Saipem explicitly admits (RA, p. 10 ¶ 44
149
), the
arbitration could in theory have been pursued with a new arbitral tribunal. Given the
abusive way in which the courts of Bangladesh exercised their supervisory jurisdiction
(see above ¶¶ et seq.) over the first ICC Tribunal, the Tribunal finds this
perspective unrealistic. There is every likelihood that Saipem would have been
exposed to similar risks with a new arbitral tribunal.
e) Conclusion
170. In the light of these developments, the Tribunal concludes that the revocation of the
arbitrators’ authority was contrary to international law, in particular to the principle of
abuse of rights and the New York Convention.
25
Along the same lines, one should point out that the Award in Salini v. Ethiopia [cited above
Fn. 21] relied upon by Saipem relates to a different situation as it concerned an injunction by
the local court to stay the arbitration itself (and not a revocation of the arbitrators) and relied
only marginally on Article II of the New York Convention.
26
S. M. SCHWEBEL, Anti-Suit Injunctions in International Arbitration: An Overview, [cited above Fn.
21], pp. 3-4.
52
2.2.3 The Supreme Court decision declaring the ICC Award “non-existent”
171. It is Saipem’s contention that the Supreme Court’s decision of 21 April 2004 holding
that the ICC Award was “non-existent” was “devoid of any legal foundation” (SoC., 28,
¶ 115
172. In reply, Bangladesh argues that “the Supreme Court had no duty or power under
Bangladeshi law […] to question the correctness of the Revocation case, nor had
Saipem invited it to do so” (
).
Rejoinder, p. 37, ¶ 123
173. While the decision of the Supreme Court may appear understandable under domestic
law, the fact remains that under international law it is flawed. Moreover, the fact that
Petrobangla felt compelled to bring an action to set aside the ICC Award tends to
demonstrate that the Revocation Decision did not finally dispose of the matter. As a
matter of common sense, the Tribunal cannot but agree with Saipem that the Supreme
Court's decision declaring the ICC Award “non-existent” constituted the “coup de
grâce” given to the arbitral process, thus removing any doubt that might have remained
about the effect of the courts' intervention.
). Since it is undisputed that Saipem
did not appeal from the decision revoking the arbitrators’ authority, one could argue
that the Supreme Court could not disregard that decision. The Tribunal cannot follow
this argument. As it stated above, the New York Convention is binding upon
Bangladesh as a State and Bangladesh would be responsible for any breach of that
treaty.
2.3 Did Saipem have to exhaust local remedies?
174. It is undisputed that Saipem did not make use of its right to appeal the two key
decisions, i.e., the Revocation Decision (see above ¶ 42) and the decision of the
Supreme Court that the ICC Award was “non-existent” (see above ¶ 51).
175. As a preliminary matter, the Tribunal wishes to emphasize that Article 26 of the ICSID
Convention reverses the position existing under traditional international law in that it
presumes that States parties to the Convention waive the requirement of exhaustion of
local remedies as a condition of consent to international adjudication. Yet, States are
entitled to reintroduce such requirement when ratifying the ICSID Convention. In the
present case, there is no indication that Bangladesh has elected to require prior
53
exhaustion of local remedies as a precondition to the admissibility of claims according
to Article 26 of the ICSID Convention.
176. Hence, the question that arises is whether the requirement of exhaustion of local
remedies which applies as a matter of substance and not procedure in the context of
claims for denial of justice, may be applicable here by analogy. In other words, is
exhaustion of remedies a substantive requirement of a valid claim for expropriation by
actions of the judiciary? If the answer is affirmative, then the further question arises
whether the conditions for exhaustion of local remedies are fulfilled in the present
case. Because they deal with a substantive component of a treaty breach, these
questions must be addressed as part of the merits of the dispute.
177. It is Bangladesh’s submission, that “the only applicable or appropriate test for
determining ‘wrongful interference’ by State courts is whether there has been a denial
of justice” (Rejoinder, p. 33, ¶ 104
178. Referring to the decision of the Loewen tribunal, Bangladesh contends that local
remedies shall be exhausted in any event:
). By contrast, Saipem contends that (i) the rule on
exhaustion of local remedies does not apply here, and (ii) in any event the
requirements of that rule are satisfied since Saipem made all reasonable attempts to
obtain redress of the illegal decisions before the courts of Bangladesh.
whether characterized as a denial of justice or as an expropriation where the
act which forms the basis of that complaint is a court decision, […] the local
remedies rule undoubtedly applies as a substantive requirement.
(Tr. III 138:11-16
179. By contrast, it is Saipem’s primary
)
27
27
In support of its position that the requirement does not apply, Saipem contends that the
requirement of exhaustion of local remedies should be disregarded in the present proceedings
“because the highest court of Bangladesh had several opportunities to deal with this case, and
to set right the wrongs which were committed by the lower courts, in particular in the decision of
April 21, 2004” (Tr. II 113:4-14). The Tribunal disagrees for the already indicated reasons that
one fails to see how the Supreme court could act on its own motion failing any
appeal/submission by Saipem (see above ¶
argument that exhaustion of local remedies does
not apply at all in investor-State arbitration. Referring to leading commentators,
Saipem argues that this requirement is “inconsistent with the creation of a right to
172).
54
arbitration by investors directly”, even in cases of denial of justice (Reply, pp. 30-31,
¶¶ 108-109)28
180. In support of its position that the requirement does not apply, Saipem contends that “as
a matter of principle, exhaustion of local remedies does not apply in expropriation law”
(
.
Reply, pp. 28-29, ¶ 102
For the Respondent's argument on local remedies to be pertinent, one
would therefore have to postulate that an expropriation, albeit one carried
out by the courts, and a denial of justice are one and the same illegality.
This is clearly not the case.
At least according to the more traditional notions (and leaving aside whether
these are pertinent in an investment arbitration context), denial of justice
relates as much to the process by which a certain result is reached as to the
actual outcome. This explains why it is held by some that regard must be
had to the overall functioning of the legal system and to a broad obligation of
the State to maintain a functioning system of justice, without focussing on
the requirement that justice, and a correct decision, be handed down in
each individual case.
The situation is completely different for expropriation. Here the only issue is
the final outcome, i.e. the illegal deprivation of the foreign investor's
property, and not the way this was achieved. There is no requirement that
the expropriation be carried out in a given way to qualify as illegal. There is
no set moment when the expropriation becomes illegal. In particular, the BIT
does not set any temporal or procedural requirement for there to be an
expropriation. Therefore, regard must be had only to the net result, i.e. the
taking of property.
(
, quoting Generation Ukraine at ¶ 20.30) and stating that the
present case is precisely about expropriation:
181. The Tribunal agrees in substance with Saipem’s analysis. Saipem’s case is one of
expropriation (see above ¶
Reply, p. 33, ¶¶ 116-118)
121). While the Tribunal concurs with the parties that
expropriation by the courts presupposes that the courts' intervention was illegal, this
does not mean that expropriation by a court necessarily presupposes a denial of
justice. Accordingly, it tends to consider that exhaustion of local remedies does not
constitute a substantive requirement of a finding of expropriation by a court.
182. Be this as it may, the Tribunal does not need to make a determination on this issue
since it considers that, if the requirement applied, Saipem would be deemed to have
satisfied it under the circumstances. The requirement of exhaustion of local remedies
28
Referring to MCLACHLAN/SHORE/WEINIGER, International Investment Arbitration, Oxford
University Press, 2007, pp. 232-233, submitted as Exh. C-128.
55
imposes on a party to resort only to such remedies as are effective. Parties are not
held to "improbable remedies"29
183. It is undisputed that Saipem had already litigated the issue of the arbitral misconduct
for more than two and a half years in front of different courts in Bangladesh before
being served with the decision revoking the power of the ICC Tribunal. It can thus be
held to have exerted reasonable local remedies, having spent considerable time and
money seeking to obtain redress without success although the allegation of
misconduct was clearly ill-founded. Requiring it to do more and file appeals would
amount to holding it to "improbable" remedies. This is even more true knowing that
Saipem’s case was precisely that the local courts should never have become involved
in the dispute, since the parties had entrusted the ICC Court of Arbitration with the
power to revoke the arbitrators’ authority.
.
184. Under these circumstances, there is no need for the Tribunal to assess whether
Saipem could reasonably have relied on its perception of hostility to justify its failure to
exhaust the local remedies (Tr. III 142:6-14). This said, the Tribunal notes that, even
without reference to the disputed press clippings, Mr. Galizzi’s testimony on this
question at the Hearing was indeed convincing (Tr. I 124:10 et seq.
2.4 Did Saipem accept the risk of the revocation of the arbitrator by agreeing to
Dhaka as the seat of the arbitration?
). On this basis,
had it been relevant, it would have been legitimate for Saipem to take any threats to its
security into account when deciding whether or not to appeal from the two disputed
court decisions.
185. In its initial submission, Bangladesh seemed to argue that the interference of the local
courts was not illegal because, as a result of the parties' choice of Dhaka as the seat
of the ICC Arbitration, Saipem had accepted the risk of interference by the local courts.
186. As Saipem stressed, such an argument is self-serving. It can not be disputed that “the
supervision of the courts of the seat must be exercised in good faith, in accordance
with the rule of law, and with generally accepted principles of international arbitration”
(Tr. II 89:9-12
29
Duke Energy Electroquil Partners and Electroquil S.A. v. Republic of Ecuador, ICSID Case No.
ARB/04/19, Award of 18 August 2008, ¶¶ 399-400 quoting Jan Paulsson, Denial of Justice in
International Law, Cambridge, 2006, p.153-154.
).
56
187. There is no question that, under most legal systems including the Bangladeshi one, by
choosing the seat of the arbitration the parties submit to the jurisdiction of the courts at
the seat, which jurisdiction can be exercised in aid and in control of the arbitration
process. That submission obviously implies that the courts exercise their jurisdiction to
the ends for which it is created and do not abuse their powers. In the present case, it
has been established above that the court's intervention was abusive (see above
¶¶ 149 et seq.). Hence, the choice of Dhaka as a seat cannot change the conclusions
drawn earlier by the Tribunal.
2.5 Are the disputed actions attributable to Bangladesh?
188. Saipem submits that the expropriation was caused by the combined actions of
Petrobangla and the courts of Bangladesh.
189. In its Decision on Jurisdiction, the Tribunal held that (i) it "cannot be seriously
challenged” that the Bangladeshi judiciary is part of the State and that the acts
committed by it are directly attributable to the State and (ii) the attributability of
Petrobangla's acts to the State would be assessed in the merits phase by reference
principally to Articles 4, 5 and 8 of the ILC.
190. It is self-evident and Bangladesh does not dispute that the courts are “part of the
State”, i.e., an organ of the State in the meaning of Article 4 of the ILC Articles (see
Decision on Jurisdiction, ¶ 143).
191. With respect to Petrobangla's actions, the Tribunal has found no treaty breach. Its
actions in the context of the ICC Arbitration were not official acts of the government
and hence could not have amounted to an expropriation. As a result, the issue of
attribution does not arise in connection with Petrobangla.
3. QUANTUM
192. Saipem argues that the Revocation Decision (and the subsequent decision to declare
the ICC Award non-existent) precluded the enforcement of the ICC Award in
Bangladesh or elsewhere, thus depriving it of any compensation (see above ¶ 120). In
essence, it thus claims in these proceedings the amount awarded by the ICC Tribunal
(3.1 to 3.3) plus interest (3.4).
57
193. In support of its claim, Saipem relies on the standards to determine the amount of
compensation set forth in Article 5(1)(3) of the BIT. It is undisputed that according to
this provision:
(i) The victim of an expropriation is entitled to a "just compensation" equal
to "the real market value of the investment" and calculated "according
to internationally acknowledged evaluation standards".
(ii) The date of reference to assess the value of the expropriated
investment is the date "immediately prior to the moment in which the
decision to nationalize or expropriate is announced or made public";
(iii) In the absence of an agreement between the parties, the compensation
must be paid "in convertible currency"; and
(iv) Payment must be made immediately and any delay entails payment of
"interest calculated on a six-month LIBOR basis accruing from the date
of nationalization or expropriation to the date of payment".
(SoC., p. 68, ¶ 254
194. In particular, the parties agree on the applicability of “internationally acknowledged
evaluation standards” (
)
Rejoinder, p. 42, ¶ 139
3.1 The amount of compensation according to Saipem
).
195. Saipem asserts that it is entitled to “full compensation”, i.e., to compensation “for all
damages suffered […] in order to restore the situation which would have existed in the
absence of the illicit act”. Relying on previous expropriation cases30
[w]hen the expropriation affects intangible property, the standard for
compensation is the general principle of restitutio in integrum, i.e. an amount
of compensation capable of restoring the injured party to the economic
situation which this party enjoyed before or in the absence of the injury or
expropriation.
(
, Saipem further
contends that:
SoC., p. 71, ¶ 264
196. Applying these principles to the present case, Saipem considers that:
)
the calculation of the amount due to the investor is straightforward. Since
the expropriation consisted foremost in rendering a perfectly valid arbitral
award worthless and unenforceable, the loss suffered by the Claimant at the
hands of Bangladesh the measure of the compensation is the amount
30
See in particular Antoine Biloune and Marine Drive Complex v. Ghana Investments Centre and
Ghana Government, Award on Damages, Interests and Costs of 30 June 1990, Yearbook of
Commercial Arbitration, Vol. XIX (1994), pp. 11-32 and the quoted references.
58
awarded in the ICC Award plus whatever additional cost or damage incurred
as a consequence of the impossibility to enforce the Award immediately.
(SoC., p. 72, ¶ 269
The Tribunal [in the OPIC case MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company
)
And:
31
]
went so far as to decide that “non-payment of the arbitral award is a
violation of international law”. It did so relying on the Harvard Draft and on
Article II of the New York Convention. This […] confirms that the award has
to be respected by the State and that therefore the quantum of the damage
is the entire amount of the Award.
(RPN II, ¶ 4
197. On this basis, as mentioned earlier, Saipem claims the amount awarded by the ICC
Tribunal
)
32
plus interest33
3.2 The amount of compensation according to Bangladesh
.
198. It is Bangladesh's submission that:
the date for assessing compensation (and from which interest will accrue) is
the date of the alleged expropriatory act. The real or effective expropriatory
act relied upon [by] the Claimant is the revocation of the authority of the
arbitrators. The Claimant admitted this position in the Hearing on
Jurisdiction. It should be noted that at this time there was no ICC Award.
Therefore it follows that the evaluation of compensation should be made on
the basis of what sums remained due under the Pipeline Contract and the
Compromise at the date of revocation, 5 April 2000.
(Rejoinder, p. 42, ¶ 140
199. Reverting to its arguments on the merits of the contractual dispute, and in particular on
the interpretation of the so-called Compromise, Bangladesh submits that the
outstanding amount would have to be determined by the sole arbitrator provided in the
)
31
MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company (formerly CalEnergy Company. Inc) v. Indonesia.
Decision of 1 November 1999, reported in Investment Claims – IIC 168 (1999). The Tribunal
asked the Parties to comment on, and handed out copies of this case at the hearing.
32
Saipem claims that the date of the ICC Award, i.e. 9 May 2003, is relevant for the calculation
according to Article 5(3) of the BIT: “Prior to this date the amount of the investor's credit had not
yet been quantified. At the date of the Award the arbitration had already been frustrated by
Bangladesh and the Award had been rendered unenforceable by previous judicial decisions
even before it was handed down. It is at this moment on that the State measure having the
effect of expropriating the investment produced its effects” (SoC, p. 68, p. 256).
33
In its last written submission, Saipem stated that it “will provide the Tribunal with a detailed and
updated calculation of interest and costs soon after the March 2008 hearing” (Reply, p. 41,
¶ 150), which it did not do.
59
Compromise, not by the ICC Tribunal. It also argues that the amount so determined
could be in favour of Petrobangla rather than Saipem.
200. Moreover, Bangladesh contends that
Indeed, the exhaustion of local remedies would, if not decisive on the
question of a breach of the Treaty itself, later arise for consideration again
as part of the causation and mitigation of loss.
(
3.3 The Tribunal’s determination
Tr. III 139:8-12)
201. Article 5(1)(3) of the BIT which describes the just compensation due in case of an
expropriation refers to “the real market value of the investment […] according to
internationally acknowledged evaluation standards". This provision is not applicable to
determine the amount of compensation in the present instance because it sets out the
measure of compensation for lawful expropriation which this one is not. Hence, the
Tribunal will resort to the relevant principles of customary international law and in
particular to the principle set out by the Permanent Court of Justice in the Chorzów
Factory case:
The essential principle contained in the actual notion of an illegal act – a
principle which seems to be established by international practice and in
particular by the decisions of arbitral tribunals – is that reparation must, as
far as possible, wipe-out all the consequences of the illegal act and reestablish
the situation which would, in all probability, have existed if that act
had not been committed. Restitution in kind, or, if this is not possible,
payment of a sum corresponding to the value which a restitution in kind
would bear; the award, if need be, of damages for loss sustained which
would not be covered by restitution in kind or payment in place of it
34
202. After having carefully reviewed the arguments of the parties and having taken into
account all the circumstances of the case, and in particular the fact that the
expropriated rights at hand were Saipem’s residual contractual rights under the
investment as crystallised in the ICC Award (see above ¶
.
128), the Tribunal considers
that in the present case the amount awarded by the ICC Award constitutes the best
evaluation of the compensation due under the Chorzów Factory principle.
34
Chórzow Factory case (Merits), Germany v. Poland, Judgment of the PCIJ of 13 September
1928, PCIJ Series A. Vol 17 at 47 (Exh. C-69).
60
203. From this point of view, Bangladesh’s contention that “[e]ven if the ICC Award had not
been declared to be non est on the grounds of revocation of the authority of the ICC
Tribunal, there were other valid reasons for annulling the award or for refusing
enforcement under Bangladeshi arbitration law and the New York Convention”
(Rejoinder, p. 39, ¶ 132
23
) is unsubstantiated. The same applies to Bangladesh’s
arguments concerning the so-called “Compromise” (see above ¶ ), which, according
to Bangladesh, might well have played a role in an application to set aside the award.
204. In conclusion, the Tribunal considers that the expropriation of the right to arbitrate the
dispute in Bangladesh under the ICC Arbitration Rules corresponds to the value of the
award rendered without the undue intervention of the court of Bangladesh.
205. On the other hand, the Tribunal considers that the amounts claimed in paragraph (iv)
and (v) of Saipem’s prayers for relief (i.e., the costs, legal fees and all related
expenses incurred by Saipem in relation to the intervention of the Bangladeshi courts
and other related costs, as well as interest thereon) are not part of Saipem’s initial
investment. Moreover, it is impossible to conclude that Saipem’s costs, legal fees and
other expenses in relation to the intervention of the Bangladeshi courts have been the
object of an expropriation. It follows that these expenses cannot be part of the
reparation for the illegal expropriation for which the Tribunal has jurisdiction.
206. With respect to Saipem’s prayers for relief regarding the Warranty Bond, the Tribunal
notes that Saipem did not dispute the fact that Petrobangla has withdrawn its letter of
23 June 2003, by which it requested Banque Indosuez Pakistan to pay out on the
Warranty Bond. On the face of it, the Warranty Bond was to expire on 30 June 1993. It
is not established that it was extended nor, if it was, for how long. Neither is there
evidence on record that Petrobangla has or may still obtain payment under the
Warranty Bond. Under these circumstances, the Tribunal must conclude that Saipem
has not met its burden of proof with respect to this claim.
207. Hence, the Tribunal dismisses the first limb of Saipem’s final request for relief claiming
the return and cancellation of the Warranty Bond as well as the second limb of that
prayer seeking “in the event that Petrobangla obtains payment of the Warranty Bond,
the amount of the Warranty Bond, plus interest at the BIT Libor Rate from the date at
which Saipem will have to pay the amount thereof to the Bank”.
61
208. Accordingly, the recommendation issued by the Tribunal on 21 March 2007 (see ¶ 67
above) will cease to be in effect upon notification of this Award.
3.4 Interest
209. Saipem claims interest on the awarded amounts “at the rate provided for by Article 5 of
the BIT, viz. six-month LIBOR from 10 May 2003 to the date of payment”.
210. In its final submission, Saipem added that, “as consistently recognized by ICSID caselaw,
interest must be compounded to respect the principle of "full recovery" set out in
Article 38(1) of the ILC Articles” (Reply, ¶ 148, pp. 40-41 referring in particular to ICSID
Case No. ARB/97/3, Vivendi Universal v. Argentina, Award of 20 August 2007) and
announced that it “w[ould] provide the Tribunal with a detailed and updated calculation
of interest and costs soon after the March 2008 hearing” (Reply, ¶ 150, p. 41
211. The Tribunal does not need Saipem’s calculations since the ICC Tribunal has already
awarded interest at a rate of 3.375% per annum from 7 June 1993. In the Tribunal’s
opinion, Saipem cannot at the same time ask the amount awarded by the ICC Award
and interest going beyond that allocated by the ICC arbitrators.
), which it
did not do.
212. Hence, the Tribunal will award simple interest at a rate of 3.375% per annum from 7
June 1993.
4. CAUSATION
213. There is no disagreement between the parties that compensation can only cover
losses caused by the acts attributed to the State (see also Article 31(2) of the ILC Draft
Articles on State Responsibility).
214. It cannot seriously be challenged that the actions of the Bangladeshi courts are the
direct cause of the expropriation at issue. Hence, the Tribunal considers that there is a
sufficient causative link between the loss assessed above and the breach of Article 5.1
of the BIT by Bangladesh. The same applies to the interest claim.
62
5. COSTS
215. Taking into consideration all the circumstances of the case and in the exercise of its
discretion in cost matters, the Tribunal decides that each party shall bear the expenses
which it incurred in connection with the arbitration. The parties shall also bear the costs
of the proceeding, including the fees and expenses of the members of the Tribunal and
the fees of ICSID, in equal shares.
V. AWARD
216. On the basis of the foregoing reasons, the Tribunal renders the following award:
1. The Respondent shall pay to the Claimant the sums of
USD 5,883,770.80, and USD 265,000.00 and € 110,995.92 plus interest
at a rate of 3.375% per annum from 7 June 1993;
2. The recommendation issued by the Tribunal on 21 March 2007 in
connection with the Warranty Bond No. 86/USD/12/92 shall cease to be
in effect as of the notification of this Award.
3. The costs of the proceedings, including the fees and expenses of the
Tribunal and the fees of ICSID shall be borne by the parties in equal
shares;
4. Each party shall bear the expenses it incurred in connection with the
arbitration;
5. All other requests for relief are dismissed.
4)' Prof. Christoph Schreuer
Date ZODj
63