Squire Patton Boggs has successfully defended the Republic of Kosovo against a €380 million investment treaty claim brought by a German private investor. The case was the first ever investment treaty case brought against Kosovo since it became an independent country in 2008. In an award issued on May 3, 2018 the ICSID arbitration tribunal rejected all claims brought against Kosovo and ordered the claimant to pay more than $2 million to Kosovo for fees and costs incurred by Kosovo in defending against the claim.
“This victory was of great significance to the people of Kosovo because it was the first investment treaty claim ever brought against the young country,” said Squire Patton Boggs partner Luka Misetic. “Moreover, the total value of the claim amounted to over 20% of the annual state budget of Kosovo. A loss would have had dire consequences for the country,” added Mr. Misetic.
New York partner Stephen Anway commented: “We are delighted that the Republic of Kosovo has achieved a 100% victory on a €380 million investment treaty claim. It is no exaggeration to say that this is one of the largest and most significant international arbitration awards this year.”
The Squire Patton Boggs team representing Kosovo was led by partners Luka Misetic and Stephen Anway in New York, Rostislav Pekař in Prague and Stephan Adell in Paris, as well as associates Mária Poláková and Vladimír Polách in Prague.
Squire Patton Boggs has been repeatedly recognized as one of the leading international arbitration firms in the world by Global Arbitration Review. The firm was ranked 23rd in its annual rankings of the top 30 international arbitration firms at the GAR 2018 Awards ceremony in Paris last month.
With a team of more than 100 lawyers with arbitration experience, the firm is a leader in energy industry and bilateral investment treaty arbitrations and has participated in many high-profile cases.
