The Fatwa and Legislation Department issued a decision in favor of Kuwait against the international arbitration lawsuit filed by a consortium of Italian and Spanish companies participating in the construction, completion and maintenance of Jamal Abdel Nasser Street, against the Government of Kuwait, which is represented by the Ministry of Works in front of the International Arbitration Center The World Bank Investment Dispute Settlement (ICSID).
According to Al-Qabas, the department said in a statement on Sunday that the arbitration related to a claim of approximately USD 264 million in compensation for violations attributed to the country and unjustly applied fines, as claimed by these companies, in addition to the interests and expenses of arbitration. The companies also claimed that the country violated several provisions contained in the bilateral agreements concluded with Italy and Spain regarding the protection and encouragement of investments.
The report indicated that Kuwait presented several procedural and substantive arguments, such as the arbitral tribunal’s incompetence to consider the dispute arising from a commercial contract and not an investment in the concept that makes it under the umbrella of protection in accordance with international agreements. The substantive claims submitted by the litigants regarding the lack of entitlement to the claimed compensation and refuting its reasons. Moreover, the lawsuit lasted for six years, during which the two parties exchanged defenses, documents and evidence, as the legal team was able to convince the arbitral tribunal that the claims of the litigants were not valid and that they were not entitled to any of the amounts claimed as compensation.
The pleading sessions were held from 27 September 2021 until 8 October 8, 2021 before the World Bank Arbitration Tribunal, and the legal team in charge of the administration remotely attended the sessions. The newspaper also indicated that the arbitral award was issued in favor of Kuwait by rejecting all the litigants’ requests and rejecting the claimed compensation with a total of USD 264 million and obliging them to a percentage of the costs, expenses and fees incurred by the country during the arbitration procedures, as it obligated the litigants to pay approximately USD 12 million, handed over to the Kuwait.