ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Law and Justice has reportedly become party to the recent dispute between the Government of Pakistan and an Independent Power Producer (IPP), M/s Halmore, well-informed sources told Business Recorder.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) had sent the notification of M/s Halmore to the concerned ministries including Law Ministry and Attorney General for Pakistan.
The sources said Law Ministry stated that it is not party to the agreement, and suggested that Attorney General Office be contacted which is dealing with the issue.
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According to MoFA for the Promotion and Protection of Investments, UK government, Northern Ireland and the Government of the Pakistan signed an agreement on 30th November 1994 targeted to create favourable conditions for greater investment by nationals and companies of one State in the territory of the other State.
Under this agreement, Article 8 relates to Settlement of Disputes between an Investor and a Host State. According to Article 8 of the Agreement, when a dispute between a national or company of one Contracting Party and the other Contracting Party concerning an obligation of the letter under the Agreement in relation to an investment of the former which have not been amicably settled shall, after a period of three months from written notification of a claim, be submitted to international arbitration if the national or company concerned so wishes.
MoFA has opined that where the dispute is referred to international arbitration the host nation and the Contracting Party concerned in the dispute may agree to refer the dispute either to the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes or the Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce or an international arbitrator or ad-hoc arbitration tribunal to be appointed by a special agreement or established under the Arbitration Rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law.
However, if after a period of three months from written notification of the claim there is no agreement to one of the above alternative procedures, the dispute shall at the request in writing of the nation or company concerned be submitted to arbitration under the Arbitration Rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law as then in force.
Karim-ud-Din’s counsel Banefatemi has presented a written notification of a claim pursuant to Article 8 of the Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
“Claiming breaches by Pakistan of its international obligations under BIT, Karim-ud-Din has requested that settlement discussions be under taken under Article 8 (1) of the Agreement. The notice further states that if this dispute cannot be resolved amicably within three months from the date of this written notification, Karim-ud-Din reserves the right to submit his claim to international arbitration under Article 8(2),” MoFA said, requesting Ministry of Commerce, Board of Investment and other relevant stakeholders to examine the notification and take appropriate action.
The sources said revised pacts with 16 IPPs are finalized but perhaps there are still issues with M/s Halmore, which need settlement.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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