Squire Patton Boggs has successfully represented Kosovo in an International Chamber of Commerce arbitration concerning the revocation of a microfinance license.
According to Squire Patton Boggs, “the dispute, AS IuteCredit Europe v Republic of Kosovo, concerning the revocation of a microfinance license issued to the claimant’s local Kosovo subsidiary, was governed by Kosovo’s 2014 Law on Foreign Investment. Squire Patton Boggs has now secured three consecutive victories for the Republic of Kosovo in investment arbitrations, saving Kosovo taxpayers nearly half a billion euros in claims.”
According to the firm, “the case involved several issues concerning the legality of the investments, both at the time of the making of the investment and subsequently. The tribunal eventually concluded that the claimant’s conduct was not sufficient to preclude the tribunal’s jurisdiction but found in Kosovo’s favor on all claims on the merits.”
“In doing so, the tribunal accepted Kosovo’s argument that the revocation of the microfinance license represented a bona fide exercise of Kosovo’s regulatory powers, which was neither arbitrary nor discriminatory and provided the claimant with due process,” the firm informed. “Based on this conclusion, the tribunal rejected all claims brought by the claimant, including its claims for expropriation, breach of the FET standard, breach of the FPS standard, and breach of the umbrella clause. The tribunal also awarded Kosovo all the costs of the arbitration and 20% of Kosovo’s own costs.”
The Squire Patton Boggs team included Prague-based Partner Rostislav Pekar, Senior Associate Matej Pustay, and Associates Fellenza Limani, Mailis Meier-Lutterodt, Tamara Koresova, and Helena Cech, New York-based Partner Luka Misetic, and Houston-based Partner Mark Stadnyk.
