World Wide Minerals Ltd Press Release - Claims Against Kazakhstan are Remitted to the Arbitral Tribunal for New Determination on Causation and Quantum - 24 November 2020
Country
Year
2020
Summary
TORONTO, CANADA, November 24, 2020 - World Wide Minerals Ltd. ("WWM"), and Mr. Paul A. Carroll, QC, WWM's President and CEO, received a disappointing decision from the English High Court dated November 23, 2020, which set aside the quantum findings of an arbitral award rendered in WWM's and Mr. Carroll's favour on October 29, 2019 (the "Award") and remitted all issues concerning causation and the quantification of loss for determination by the arbitral tribunal (the "Tribunal"). In the Award, the Tribunal held that the Republic of Kazakhstan breached international law and the Canada-U.S.S.R. Bilateral Investment Treaty ("BIT") and granted WWM over US$ 40 million in damages, in addition to a substantial portion of its legal costs incurred in the proceeding (for a total Award amount in excess of US$ 50 million).
In a decision with which WWM strongly disagrees, the English High Court--London was the seat of the arbitration--accepted Kazakhstan's argument that the Tribunal should have provided Kazakhstan with an opportunity to rebut the findings of loss flowing from the breaches that the Tribunal ultimately determined, having rejected WWM's other allegations of breach. As a result, relevant paragraphs of the Award that provided for the quantification of loss due to WWM and Mr. Carroll were set aside. The English High Court, however, rejected Kazakhstan's argument that the Court should award WWM and Mr. Carroll zero damages and remitted all issues concerning causation and the quantification of loss referable to the findings of breach for determination by the Tribunal. The parts of the Award awarding legal costs to WWM and Mr. Carroll were also set side and remitted to the Tribunal for reconsideration. All other parts of the Award, particularly those related to Kazakhstan's confirmed breaches of the BIT, remain unaffected by the Court's decision.
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