Slovakia wins international arbitration on talc mining license

Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-23 05:08:44|Editor: Mu Xuequan
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BRATISLAVA, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Slovakia has won an international arbitration against companies EuroGas and Belmost Resources concerning a license for talc mining in Gemerska Poloma in the Eastern Slovakia.

"Slovakia has an exceptionally high score in lawsuits with foreign investors. Our country is starting to be perceived as a strong state abroad thanks to these results," the Slovak Finance Ministry said on Tuesday in a statement.

The International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in Washington accepted in its ruling jurisdiction objections raised by Slovakia.

"The tribunal recognized that the dispute arose in 2005, when an amendment to the mining law should have been applied for the first time regarding the allocation of a respective mining area to another company. The sum that the aforementioned plaintiff wanted to sue Slovakia for was 239.7 million euros (282 million U.S. dollars), and the tribunal made its decision based on procedural reasons," the Finance Ministry said in the statement.

EuroGas managing board chairman Wolfgang Rauball admitted a failure in the firm's arbitration proceedings with Slovakia earlier in the day.

"The ICSID tribunal ruled last week that it's not in its jurisdiction to decide on the case, thus granting Slovakia the ruling. Article 52 of its statutes, however, enables a request for the decision to be annulled, and we want to make use of this clause," said Rauball.

EuroGas AG has been threatening Slovakia with arbitration proceedings since 2010. As the petitioner in the arbitration, which was launched in 2014, EuroGas has demanded compensation from Slovakia for what it calls a marred investment. No appeal against ICSID decisions is possible, although they can be overturned due to serious procedural flaws.

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