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Güriş Construction & Engineering, Inc. v. Syrian Arab Republic (Int'l Comm. Arb.)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 June 2022

Kabir A.N. Duggal
Affiliation:
Kabir A.N. Duggal is an SJD candidate at Harvard Law School and Lecturer-in-Law at Columbia Law School, United States. Nicholas J. Diamond is Counsel, Crowell & Moring LLP, Adjunct Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center, and Adjunct Professor of Law, University of Houston Law Center, United States.
Nicholas J. Diamond
Affiliation:
Kabir A.N. Duggal is an SJD candidate at Harvard Law School and Lecturer-in-Law at Columbia Law School, United States. Nicholas J. Diamond is Counsel, Crowell & Moring LLP, Adjunct Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center, and Adjunct Professor of Law, University of Houston Law Center, United States.

Extract

On August 31, 2020, an arbitral tribunal sitting in the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) rendered its final award in Güriş Construction & Engineering, Inc. v. Syrian Arab Republic (Güriş). The tribunal held that the Respondent had breached its obligations under the Agreement Between the Republic of Turkey and the Syrian Arab Republic Concerning the Reciprocal Promotion and Protection of Investments (the Turkey–Syria BIT).

Type
International Legal Documents
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The American Society of International Law

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References

ENDNOTES

1 Güriş Constr. & Eng'g, Inc. v. Syrian Arab Republic, Final Award, Int'l Comm. Arb. No. 21845/ZF/AYZ (Aug 31, 2020).

2 The tribunal noted at the outset that the factual circumstances of this case were hotly contested because the dispute involved events intrinsically related to the ongoing Syrian conflict. The crux of the issue is evident even from the description of the conflict by the parties—the Respondent referred to it as intervention in its internal affairs by foreign sovereigns, while Claimants referred to it as an internal revolt against Respondent's oppressive government. Id. ¶¶ 105–07.

3 Id. ¶ 2.

4 Id. ¶¶ 108–14.

5 Id. ¶ 115.

6 Id. ¶ 118.

7 Id. ¶ 141.

8 Id. ¶¶ 143–44.

9 Id. ¶ 167.

10 Id. (quoting RosInvestco U.K. Ltd. v. Russian Fed'n, Final Award, SCC Case No. 079/2005, ¶ 608 (Sept. 12, 2010)).

11 Güriş, supra note 1, ¶¶ 167–68. Several tribunals have concluded that unless a treaty expressly excludes indirect investments, such investments would fall within the purview of the treaty. See, e.g., Cairn Energy PLC and Cairn UK Holdings Limited (CUHL) v. Republic of India, Award, PCA Case No. 2016-07 (Dec. 21, 2020); Siemens A.G. v. Argentine Republic, Decision on Jurisdiction, ICSID Case No. ARB/02/8 (Aug. 3, 2004).

12 Güriş, supra note 1, ¶ 171.

13 Id. ¶¶ 174–76.

14 Id. ¶ 177.

15 Id. ¶ 195.

16 Id. ¶¶ 214–17.

17 Id. ¶ 223.

18 Id. ¶ 224.

19 Id. ¶ 224.

20 Id. ¶ 229.

21 Id. ¶ 235.

22 Id. ¶ 235.

23 Id. ¶ 262.

24 Id. ¶ 279.

25 Güriş Constr. & Eng'g, Inc. v. Syrian Arab Republic, Final Award, Partial Dissenting Opinion of Professor Nassib G. Ziadé, Int'l Comm. Arb. No. 21845/ZF/AYZ, ¶ 14 (Aug 31, 2020).

26 Id. ¶¶ 15–17.

27 Id. ¶¶ 24–25.

28 Id. ¶ 27.

29 Id. ¶ 28.

30 Christoph Schreuer, The Protection of Investments in Armed Conflicts in Investment Law within International Law: Integrationist Perspectives 3,3 (Freya Baetens ed., 2013).

31 See, e.g., Jure Zrilic, The Protection of Foreign Investment in Times of Armed Conflict (2019).

32 CMS Gas Transmission Co. v. The Rep. of Argentina, Award, ICSID Case No. ARB/01/8 (May 12, 2005).

33 See Schreuer, supra note 31, at 12.

34 See, e.g., Ampal-Am. Israel Corp. & Others v. Arab Rep. of Egypt, Decision on Liability and Heads of Loss, ICSID Case No. ARB/12/11 (Feb. 21, 2017).

35 Güriş, supra note 1, ¶ 261.

36 Güriş, supra note 26, ¶ 14.

37 Güriş, supra note 1, ¶ 261.

38 Güriş, supra note 26, ¶¶ 15, 17.