Arnold & Porter Secures ICSID Victory for Bulgaria, and Raises to 33 the Number of Consecutive Favorable Results for Sovereign States in Investment Arbitrations

In an award issued on August 13, 2019, Arnold & Porter secured a complete and decisive victory for its client the Republic of Bulgaria, the 33rd consecutive positive result for Arnold & Porter acting on behalf of sovereign States in investment arbitrations.

The case involved an EUR 80 million investment treaty arbitration claim brought at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), a World Bank-affiliated arbitral institution, by the State General Reserve Fund of Oman (SGRF). The Tribunal's award dismissed the totality of SGRF's claims with prejudice and awarded Bulgaria 100% of its legal fees and costs in the arbitration. The award followed a withdrawal of the claims by the claimant after Bulgaria's final written submission on the merits and shortly before the hearing.

The Arnold & Porter team was led by London-based International Arbitration partner David Reed and included partners Patricio Grané Labat and Dmitri Evseev, also from the London office. It also featured associates Monty Taylor, Tim Smyth, Bart Wasiak, Katelyn Horne, and Caroline Kelly.