Summary

The Republic of Iraq ("Iraq") by and through the undersigned counsel, hereby petitions this Court for entry of a judgment pursuant to Chapter 2 of the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. § 207 (the "FAA") and the 1958 Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, June 19, 1958, 21 U.S.T. 2517 (the "New York Convention"):

(i) confirming, recognizing, and enforcing an arbitration award rendered in its arbitration against the Republic of Turkey ("Turkey");

(ii) entering judgment in Iraq's favor against Turkey in the amount of the Award with interest; and

(iii) granting Iraq such relief as the Court deems just and proper.

This Petition is supported by an accompanying Declaration of James L. Loftis, dated 10 April 2023 ("Loftis Decl."), with exhibits, and states as follows:

NATURE OF ACTION

1. Iraq brings this proceeding under Section 207 of the FAA1 and Article III of the New York Convention to confirm this final, binding arbitration award executed by the Tribunal on February 13, 2023 and officially notified to the Parties on March 23, 2023 (the "Final Award"), by a three-member arbitral tribunal (the "Tribunal") duly constituted under the Rules of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce ("ICC") captioned as "The Republic of Iraq v. The Republic of Turkey, ICC Case No. 20273/AGF/ZF/AYZ/ELU" (the "Arbitration"). Loftis Decl., ¶ 3.

2. The Arbitration was based on the Crude Oil Pipeline Agreement, signed by the Republic of Iraq and the Republic of Turkey in 1973, with protocols, addenda, and amendments dated 1976, 1985, and 2010 (the "ITP Agreements"). The ITP Agreements between Iraq and Turkey require (inter alia) Turkey (or its nominee) to load and store crude oil coming from Iraq at the Turkish port of Ceyhan only upon the instructions of the Ministry of Oil of the Republic of Iraq.

3. Article 10 of the 2010 Amendment (which replaces Article 21 of the 1973 Agreement) governs the parties' disputes (the "Arbitration Agreement"), and states as follows:

The Sides shall take all reasonable steps to solve any dispute that may arise during the implementation and interpretation of this Amendment amicably and through cooperation spirit and shall immediately start discussing the matter with each other in order to reach a solution. If any conflict or disparity arises between the Sides about the implementation and interpretation of this Amendment or any other issue that is not specified in the Agreement during its validity period or thereafter and if the conflict can not be resolved through amicable discussions in 4 months starting from the date the negotiations begin, that conflict shall be resolved according to the arbitration rules of the International Chamber of Commerce. The arbitration board shall be composed of 3 arbitrators and the appointment of the arbitrators shall be carried out according to the arbitration rules of International Chamber of Commerce.

Each Side shall appoint an arbitrator and the two arbitrators who are appointed as mentioned above shall appoint a third arbitrator who is not a citizen of the Republic of Turkey or the Republic of Iraq. If any one of the Sides does not appoint an arbitrator in 30 days time after arbitration request date, then the other Side may request from the International Chamber of Commerce to appoint an arbitrator. If the third arbitrator can not be determined within 30 days time after the two arbitrators are appointed then the third arbitrator (the chairman) shall be appointed by the arbitration board of the International Chamber of Commerce provided that the arbitrator shall not be a citizen of Republic of Turkey or Republic of Iraq. The arbitration place shall be Paris, France.

The applicable law shall be French Law. Arbitration language shall be English. The charges of the arbitration process shall be determined by the arbitration board.

However the charges that shall be determined shall not be more than the charges that are specified in the tariff which is issued in compliance with the rules of the International Chamber of Commerce. The award of the arbitration board shall be final and shall have a binding effect on the Sides.

4. The Final Award in Iraq's favor found Turkey in breach of the ITP Agreements and ordered Turkey to pay Iraq $1,471,390,486.05 before interest for breaches of the Agreements.4 The Tribunal held that Turkey has breached its obligations under the ITP Agreements since May 2014, because Turkey caused Iraqi crude oil pumped by the Kurdistan Regional Government (the "KRG") to be loaded according to the KRG's instructions, without the authorization of the Ministry of Oil of the Republic of Iraq and in contravention of its explicit instructions.

...

PRAYER FOR RELIEF

WHEREFORE, Petitioner moves this Court for an Order:

a. Recognizing, Confirming, and Enforcing the Final Award issued by the Arbitral Tribunal;

b. Entering judgment in conformity with the terms of the Final Award for $1,471,390,486.05, before post-breach, pre-Award interest to be determined;

c. Granting Iraq all applicable interest for the time period specified in the Final Award and at the rate specified in the Final Award;

d. Awarding interest, including post judgment interest, at the rate specified in the Final Award; and

e. Granting such other and further relief as the Court may deem just and proper.

Footnotes omitted

OGEL: The Republic of Iraq v The Republic of Turkey - ICC International Court of Arbitration Case No 20273/AGF/ZF/AYZ/ELU Final Award - 13 February 2023

TDM: The Republic of Iraq v The Republic of Turkey - ICC International Court of Arbitration Case No 20273/AGF/ZF/AYZ/ELU Final Award - 13 February 2023