Government, TCC still engaged in legal battle

Pakistan and M/s Tethyan Copper Company (TCC), the developer of Reko Diq project in Balochistan are reportedly still engaged in a legal battle at Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) of the World Bank as the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet has approved $1 million lawyer's fee and other associated expenditures.

On October 22, 2019, Prime Minister Imran Khan in his tweet had claimed that during his recent US visit, the Chairman of the TCC expressed his desire to resume the Reko Diq project and help Pakistan explore one of the largest copper and gold reserves in the world.

Tethyan is a fully owned joint venture company of Barrick Gold of Canada and Antofagasta Minerals of Chile, both gold and copper mining leaders globally. TCC, in partnership with Government of Balochistan, is evaluating the development of a world-class copper-gold mine at Reko Diq, District Chagai of Balochistan.

According to the Ministry of Law and Justice, Tribunal of the ICSID of the World Bank issued an award of $ 6 billion against Pakistan in the matter of Reko Diq dispute. Subsequently, on August 27, 2019 TCC initiated proceedings before the US Federal Court of enforcement of the award through attachment of Pakistan's assets in the United States of America.

The government of Pakistan has challenged the award by initiating annulment proceedings before the ICSID. The government of Pakistan is also resisting the enforcement proceedings initiated by TCC in the US and Australia.

The committee constituted under SOP's for the engagement of foreign lawyers in the International Arbitration cases, headed by the Attorney General has appointed M/s Dentons, a reputed international law firm as the "strategic coordinator" to advise on legal and technical aspects of the case. The advice of Dentons shall define the strength and direction of Pakistan's case.

In this regard, the Office of the Attorney General for Pakistan moved a summary for the Prime Minister on January 6, 2020 to sanction a supplementary grant of $ 1 million comprising of estimated legal and miscellaneous expenses to be occasioned by M/s Dentons. Finance Division on one para of the summary advised the Ministry of Ministry of Law and Justice to submit a summary for the ECC for the provision of rupees equivalent of $ 1 million through a technical supplementary grant.

As the minutes of ECC are issued and subsequently ratification by the Cabinet, the Finance Division will release the funds into the relevant head account of the Law and Justice Division, which can then be utilized by the Office of the Attorney General for Pakistan for the purpose specified in the summary. The Finance Division will also provide the foreign exchange cover of these funds.

According to the Law Ministry, at present, no savings are available under demand numbers 78 and 79- other expenditure of the Ministry during the current financial year 2019-20. Therefore, the Law Ministry proposed that ECC to recommend to approve the allocation of a technical supplementary grant of $ 1 million equivalent to Rs 154,614,500 by the federal government in terms of article 84 of the Constitution of Pakistan, in favour of Ministry of Law and Justice for meeting expenditure on account of legal and miscellaneous charges to the case.

Finance Division in its note of February 4, 2020 has conveyed the concurrence to the supplementary grant of $ 1 million to Rs 154,614,500 approximately.