Pelinari & Pelinari represents Romania in an investment arbitration dispute that will be judged in accordance with the arbitration rules of the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes, an institution which is part of the World Bank group, based in Washington, USA. Along with Pelinari & Pelinari, Dechamps International Law and 3 Verulam Buildings from London are also part of the Consortium set up to defend Romania’s interests.
The arbitration dispute was initiated by 44 Claimants who developed projects in the field of renewable energy in Romania: 15 companies from Italy, Greece, Luxembourg, Germany, Turkey, the Czech Republic and Cyprus, a private equity fund and 28 Greek citizens, Italian and Czech. They accuse non-compliance with the protection conferred by the Energy Charter Treaty, an international investment agreement that establishes a multilateral framework for cooperation in the energy industry, through the legislative changes that Romania adopted between 2011 and 2014.
This case is a complex one both in terms of the issues of substantial, national and European Union law, as well as the procedural issues it raises, being a case with 44 applicants. As the rules on the procedure and case management of investment arbitration were not designed for these collective cases, it is expected to be an out-of-the-ordinary case, which may create reference jurisprudence in international investment law.
„Although I have worked in several international arbitration cases outside Romania, the current challenge is one that I have been waiting for some time – as a lawyer in international arbitration, there is no greater honor than representing your own country. We brought together a multidisciplinary team, with a cumulative experience of over 50 years in international and investment arbitration. ” Alexandru Stănescu, Esq. LLM, MBA, member of the coordination team of the consortium representing Romania.
ICSID is one of the five institutions that form the World Bank Group, being a structure that offers unique and extremely valuable institutionalized arbitration services for the international settlement of investment disputes.
Cases in which foreign investors initiate an investment arbitration dispute against the host country, on the basis of international treaties, are less frequent compared to international commercial arbitrations, challenging both in complexity and in typicality.
„This arbitration dispute is a novelty in the history of ICSID cases from the perspective of the large number of claimants and, therefore, also from the perspective of the legal complexity of the arguments we will answer: it is like playing a tennis match with 44 players on the other side of the net.
Of course, it is a serious professional challenge when you have been mandated to defend your own country, and it is a pleasure to work with and against some of the best teams of lawyers in the world. We will approach this dispute as we know it best: thoroughly, with the utmost care, without any room for error. When you do absolutely everything as well as you can, usually the results do not take long to appear. The experience gained in the twenty years of practicing law, during which time I have represented public and private clients, in international arbitration will greatly contribute to my input in this investment arbitration dispute”. Andrei Pelinari, Esq. LLM, FCIArb, managing partner Pelinari & Pelinari – the leader of the consortium representing Romania.
