Tuesday, July 16, 2024, 5:15 p.m
8229 readings
Surprise decision in the Roia Montan file PHOTO Archive
Surprise decision in the Roia Montan file. The World Bank's International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) has decided to temporarily suspend the execution of the decision by which Gabriel Resources, the majority shareholder of Roia Montan Gold Corporation (RMGC), lost the lawsuit filed against Romania.
ICSID announced that it registered the request of Gabriel Resources, to cancel the decision favorable to Romania, and that it notified the parties regarding the provisional suspension of its execution, during the deliberations on the request for cancellation, writes profit.ro .
The Canadian company Gabriel Resources previously announced that it filed an appeal against the decision of the Washington Arbitration Court (ICSID) by which Romania won the Roia Montan case, requesting its annulment.
Gabriel Resources is seeking the annulment of the ICSID decision handed down on March 8, 2024 in the arbitration proceedings against Romania, which rejected the Canadian company's claims against the Romanian state, "against the strong disagreement of one of the three arbitrators". ICSID also awarded Romania approximately USD 10 million in costs.
In the request to annul the ICSID decision, Gabriel Resources claims "fatal flaws in the constitution of the ICSID tribunal, given that two of the arbitrators who delivered the majority decision, Prof. Pierre Tercier and Prof. Zachary Douglas, lacked the qualities of independence and impartiality which the ICSID Convention imposes and they did not adequately disclose the relationships between them and the parties involved in the case, including with Romania's lawyer".
The motion to set aside explains that, in addition, the majority's decision on liability is substantially flawed for several reasons, including manifest excesses of power by disregarding applicable law, multiple serious departures from fundamental rules of procedure, and a lack of reasoning for the decisions made on several of the most fundamental aspects of the claims presented, the company claims.
An annulment action is examined and decided by an "ad hoc committee" consisting of three members appointed by the President of the ICSID Governing Body. Gabriel Resources requested that the Chairman of the Board obtain a recommendation from the Secretary General of the Permanent Court of Arbitration regarding the selection of members of the ad hoc committee, given concerns about actual and potential conflicts of interest within ICSID.
In the application for annulment, Gabriel Resources also requested the suspension of the execution of the decision regarding the court costs of 10 million USD awarded to Romania.
"Following an annulment request, a provisional suspension of the execution of a decision is automatically granted, when requested, until the ad hoc committee is established. The annulment procedure provided for by the ICSID Convention is not an appeal on the merits of the arbitral decision, but a procedure that, in case of success, would extinguish the arbitral decision, including the court costs awarded", states the quoted source.
On March 8, ICSID announced that it had ruled in favor of Romania in the case against Gabriel Resources in the Roia Montan file, in which the company allegedly exploited the gold resources in this area.
Gabriel Resources was demanding 6.7 billion euros in damages. The Romanian state will not pay any compensation to Gabriel Resources in the Roia Montan case. On the other hand, Romania is going to recover court costs of about 10 million dollars. Gabriel Resources has announced that it intends to appeal the arbitration decision and will file the request by July 7.
In April, the majority shareholder of Roia Montan Gold Corporation SA, Gabriel Resources, sued the Office of the Trade Register near the Alba Court, the National Fiscal Administration Agency ( ANAF ). Gabriel Resources contests the seizure placed on RMGC shares on account of the debt of approximately 10 million dollars that Gabriel Resources has to the Romanian State, representing the damages awarded to the Romanian State following the winning of the trial held in Washington.