Romania
Romanian and US environmental justice activists demonstrated in Washington, DC, outside a World Bank tribunal hearing on a case brought by Canadian-based Gabriel Resources.
The Government took this decision to unlock the accounts of Romania’s air control company Romatsa, frozen by the Miculas.
A federal court in Washington, DC has recognized and enforced a US$331 million arbitral award against Romania under an intra-EU BIT—notwithstanding the objection of the European Commission that the award is incompatible with EU law.
The European Court of Justice on June 18 canceled a European Commission decision dating 2015, which established that Romania’s payment of compensation to Romanian-Swedish investors Ioan and Viorel Micula constituted illegal state aid. The European Commission also ordered the Romanian Government to recover the money already paid to the investors following an international court’s decision.
In 2015, Gabriel Resources sued Romania before of the ICSID, asking for a reported four billion dollars in damages, after protests halted plans for Europe’s largest gold mine.
Hydro-Québec is a Canadian company producing and distributing electricity and one of the largest energy producers in the world.
Today, the 6th of February 2019, the Romanian town of Roşia Montană celebrates its 1888th year of existence. Over the past 20 years, residents have fought against a proposed multi-billion dollar mining project.
Investment funds backing a slew of big-dollar corporate lawsuits has boomed over the past decade, fueled by favorable court rulings and investors seeking juicy returns.
Romania is the subject of six commercial trials at the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), with the claimants demanding more than EUR 7 billion in damages.
The Romanian government has won a trial at World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes against the Swiss-based energy trader Alpiq in a case related to Hidroelectrica insolvency procedure.
Roşia Montană voices to be heard in illegal Romanian gold mine litigation
The Romanian parliament has finalized the ratification of the European Union – Armenia CEPA which was signed on November 24, 2017 in Brussels, Armenia’s Ambassador to Romania Sergey Minasyan said on Facebook.
The Court of Appeal maintained the stay of enforcement of Viorel Micula and others v Romania award, but overturned his decision on security, ordering that Romania should provide £150 million as a term of the stay.
The minister of culture says that the government has proposed the delay of the inclusion of Rosia Montana in the UNESCO World Heritage list until there is a final ruling in the case opened by Gabriel Resources against Romania.
Company is seeking $4.4bn in compensation for alleged losses related to its Rosia Montana gold and silver project, which Romania refused to approve following relentless protests.
Ten photovoltaic energy producers filed a request for arbitration proceedings against the Romanian government at World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes.
Gabriel Resources will have to wait until late 2019 to find out whether Romania will have to pay it $4.4 billion in alleged losses related to the company’s Rosia Montana gold and silver project.
Rosia Montana Gold Corporation entered a dispute with the Romanian state at the ICSID after the mining project was blocked as the site was declared a historic monument.
The EC claimed intra-EU investment treaty arbitration is in breach of EU law. If the CJEU were to confirm the decision of the EC, the application of the ICSID Convention within the EU would be seriously endangered.
Romania’s prime minister has suggested his government will withdraw an application to have the Roman gold-mining area of Roșia Montană declared a Unesco world heritage site, potentially reviving controversial plans to resume mining.
