Global law firm Reed Smith acted for the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan (RoK) in successfully challenging two arbitrations brought before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID): first and most recently in a US$1.29 billion claim brought against the RoK by The AES Corporation (AES) and its related companies, and second in a US$1.5 billion claim brought against the RoK by KT Asia Investment Group BV.
In the first matter, global energy company AES, made numerous claims against the RoK on the grounds of alleged breaches by the Republic of Kazakhstan of the Energy Charter Treaty and the Treaty between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the United States of America Concerning the Encouragement and Reciprocal Protection of Investment. The Tribunal rejected the majority of AES’s claims and awarded no damages at all, and ordered AES to pay a contribution to the cost of the arbitration.
In the second matter, the former chairman of BTA Bank, Mukhtar Ablyazov, brought an international investment arbitration against the RoK in the guise of a Dutch entity owned and controlled by him, representing alleged losses from the part-nationalisation of BTA Bank. The ICSID tribunal found that it did not have jurisdiction to hear the dispute as the Claimant did not hold “an investment” under the ICSID Convention and the relevant Bilateral Investment Treaty.
Lead partner Belinda Paisley, commented:
“These were both very significant successes for the Republic of Kazakhstan in high-value, complex and lengthy ICSID claims. It is of credit to the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan that they have successfully defended claims against the state in excess of US$2.8 billion”.
In addition to Belinda Paisley, the Reed Smith team included Of Counsel Chloe Carswell and Dinara Jarmukhanova; associates Dina Nazargalina, Ellie Chapman and Suzie Savage; and paralegal Dana Kuzutbayeva. The team worked together with Ali Malek QC and Christopher Harris of 3 Verulam Buildings, Toby Landau QC of Essex Court Chambers (KT Asia jurisdiction challenge), and Simon Olleson of Thirteen Old Square Chambers and Joe Smouha QC of Essex Court Chambers (AES) in representing and advising the RoK.
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Note to Editors:
About Reed Smith
Reed Smith is a global relationship law firm, with more than 1,800 lawyers in 25 offices throughout Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the United States.
Reed Smith has been the go-to advisor for the Ministry of Justice in international arbitration claims since 1999, and has represented the RoK in 10 out of 13 investment arbitration claims brought against it in the past 14 years.
For further information, please visit www.reedsmith.com or contact Annabelle Price (Branding & Communication Executive EME) on +44 (0)20 3116 3787