Baker McKenzie has successfully defended Kosovo Telecom in a Swiss Rules Arbitration against a Kosovar company reselling its mobile credit as well as in the subsequent challenge of the award at the Swiss Supreme Court.
Kosovo Telecom is a state-owned public company and the provider of fixed and mobile network services and internet in the Republic of Kosovo.
According to Baker McKenzie, “in 2015, its former management entered into a partnership agreement with a Kosovar company for the resale of mobile phone credit in Kosovo. This partnership agreement was amended by multiple addenda and annexes, which were concluded under dubious circumstances and drastically shifted the commercial terms to Kosovo Telecom's detriment. Following a change in the company's management, Kosovo Telecom refused to further render payments under the addenda and annexes, since it considered these agreements null and void. In turn, the reseller initiated arbitration in May 2022, requesting payments of approximately EUR 1.5 million.”
Moreover, the firm reports that, following an arbitration proceeding in Geneva, an award was “granted only approximately EUR 740,000 of the claimant's claims and, in turn, granted counterclaims of Kosovo Telecom in the amount of approximately EUR 1.7 million. The reseller challenged the award in front of the Swiss Supreme Court, based on alleged infringements of its right to be heard and Swiss public policy.”
The Baker McKenzie team included Vienna-based Partners Filip Boras and Desiree Prantl and Associate Valentin Marginter as well as Zurich-based Partner Urs Zenhausern.
