Dispute resolution, arbitration and public international law in Latin America

    Latin America has established a solid international framework for dispute resolution involving foreign investors. Most states in the region have ratified the New York Convention on the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards, ensuring an international mechanism for the automatic local enforcement of an award rendered in Europe or the US. In many cases, this trend has been followed by the conclusion of an important network of over 300 bilateral treaties for the protection and promotion of investment, which may permit foreign investors adversely affected by state measures to access an arbitration mechanism against the state. The number of disputes arising from foreign investment in the region has consequently continued to increase as investors test these mechanisms.

    Our Latin America dispute resolution team is made up of Spanish and Portuguese-speaking arbitration specialists in New York, Paris and from across our network, and can address the specific legal, cultural and linguistic needs of disputes.

    Working in both English and Spanish, we have represented Latin American corporations and foreign investors in arbitration proceedings on a wide range of commercial disputes and public international law issues, including investor-state arbitrations under investment treaties. In the last three years alone, we have represented clients in more than 20 arbitrations involving Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela, in sectors as diverse as financial services, alcoholic beverages, soft drinks, metal refraction, tobacco, oil and gas and water concessions.

    For more information please refer to the section on our international practices: dispute resolution, arbitration and public international law.

    For further information please contact Christa Crane, business development manager.

    Recent dispute resolution, arbitration and public international law projects

    Some recent examples of our dispute resolution, arbitration and public international law work in Latin America include acting for:

    • CMS Gas Transmission under the US/Argentina bilateral investment treaty in the first ICSID arbitration against the government of Argentina concerning the legal impact of Argentina’s emergency economic measures on foreign investors;
    • Gas Natural SDG, Suez, Aguas de Barcelona, Vivendi Universal and Anglian Water Group in five arbitrations against Argentina under the Spain/Argentina, France/Argentina and UK/Argentina bilateral investment treaties subject to ICSID and UNCITRAL rules;
    • a multinational consortium in an ICSID arbitration against a South American state over the expropriation of a water and sewage concession;
    • a Brazilian state entity on defence proceedings in Brazil, the UK and Germany to prevent enforcement of an adverse ICC award by a Swiss energy trading company;
    • Chilean conglomerate Quiñenco in a multimillion dollar ICC arbitration in New York under Chilean law involving a dispute with the German Schörghuber Group for the control of Compañía Cervecerías Unidas, the leading beverage company in Chile;
    • a Panamanian company in LCIA arbitration proceedings against a US company concerning commissions for the development of oil fields off the east coast of Russia;
    • a multinational tobacco company in a Spanish language AAA arbitration in Paris against a South American tobacco company over a licensing agreement for the manufacture and sale of tobacco in Peru;
    • a Latin American telecoms company in a Spanish language ICC arbitration under Mexican law against a Mexican bank regarding a loan agreement;
    • an Austrian hydroelectric engineering company in an ICC arbitration and parallel Venezuelan court proceedings over damages incurred from the erection of a dam in Caruachi, Venezuela;
    • a Chilean conglomerate in London LCIA arbitration proceedings concerning rights of pre-emption under a joint venture agreement for the control of a network of banks in Latin America;
    • an Italian construction company in ICC arbitration proceedings in Miami over disputes concerning a contract for the construction of a $700m plant in Venezuela;
    • a French utility in ICC arbitration proceedings in New York over disputes concerning a waste treatment plant in central America;
    • a foreign-controlled Peruvian company in ICC arbitration proceedings in Geneva over disputes concerning the construction of a 700km gas pipeline in Peru;
    • a French corporation in an arbitration under the AAA rules in Miami concerning an industrial acquisition in Venezuela;
    • multilateral agencies and multinationals on the structuring of dispute resolution provisions on projects and financings in Ecuador, Brazil, Venezuela and Honduras; and
    • as presiding arbitrator in the first case brought against Mexico under the investor/state provision of the NAFTA treaty.

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