A team from Squire Patton Boggs has secured what is describing as "a significant victory" for the Slovak Republic at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
EuroGas Inc. et al. v. The Slovak Republic, filed in 2014, was brought by alleged investors in the US, EuroGas Inc., and Canada, Belmont Resources Inc., against the Slovak Republic under the US-Slovak Bilateral Investment Treaty and the US-Canada Bilateral Investment Treaty. EuroGas and Belmont Resources claimed that the Slovak Republic wrongfully terminated rights of their Slovak subsidiary, Rozmin s.r.o., to the largest talc mine in the world, located in Gemerska Poloma. Following a five-day hearing on jurisdiction and the merits in Paris in September 2016, the tribunal accepted Slovak Republic’s jurisdictional objections, concluding that it has no jurisdiction over the claimants' claims, and issuing an award in favor of the Slovak Republic.
This is the second major investment treaty arbitration in which Squire Patton Boggs has successfully represented the Slovak Republic, following Achmea B.V. v. The Slovak Republic (UNCITRAL), which also resulted in a complete dismissal of claims against the Slovak Republic (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on May 28, 2014). The firm is now representing the republic in a third major investment treaty arbitration in Spoldzielnia Pracy “Muszynianka” v. The Slovak Republic (UNCITRAL).
The multi-jurisdictional SPB team representing the Slovak Republic in the EuroGas matter included Stephen Anway (New York), David Alexander, Nick Zalany (Columbus), Rostislav Pekar, Maria Polakova, Matej Pustay (Prague), Tatiana Prokopova, Eva Cibulkova (Bratislava), Raul Manon (Miami), and Alexis Martinez (London).
