Azerbaijan, Baku, June 11 / Trend E. Kosolapova/
On June 5 the arbitral tribunal of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) adopted the decision on Caratube International Oil Company LLP (CIOC) versus Kazakhstan case, Kazakh Ministry of Justice reported on Monday. The ICSID rejected the claims of CIOC and ordered the company to pay $3.2 million in favor of Kazakhstan as a compensation for arbitration costs.
The dispute was related to the termination of the contract for exploration and production of hydrocarbons in the Caratube oil field, which was result of CIOC's breaches and non-performance of the contract. According to CIOC, the grounds for this arbitration were the ICSID Convention and the US-Kazakhstan Bilateral Investment Treaty because of the US nationality of Devincci Hourani, the alleged owner of CIOC.
The amount of CIOC's claims exceeded $1.2 billion. The arbitral proceeding was initiated 4 years ago. The main hearings took place in Paris.
Although formally CIOC is owned by Devincci Hourani, the Tribunal rejected CIOC's arguments and found that it lacked jurisdiction. The Tribunal ruled that there was no proof that Devincci Hourani actually made investment and controlled CIOC.
Kazakh Ministry of Justice represented and protected Kazakhstan's interests in this arbitration.