Russian PM says unacceptable when recovery claims against state filed by claimants under guise of foreign legal persons
ST PETERSBURG. May 18 (Interfax) - Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev believes it is unacceptable when during proceedings at international courts of arbitration a claimant brings recovery claims against their state under the guise of a foreign legal entity.
"The rules of transparency improve the confidence in courts of arbitration as an institution as a whole, but on the other hand, if someone chooses to manipulate this instrument, then the acquired authority dissipates. And this is exactly what happens when claimants lodge recovery claims against their own state with an international court of arbitration, using the 'corporate veil' of a foreign legal entity. This happens in a rather regular way," Medvedev said, when speaking at the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum.
Thanks to active efforts made by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, the UN Convention on transparency in arbitration between an investor and a State was drafted in 2014, Medvedev recalled.
"On one hand, the Convention amplifies the rules regarding publication of information concerning arbitrations between an investor and a State. Thus, the transparency rules raise confidence in arbitration as an institution as a whole. But on the other hand, as soon as this right happens to be manipulated, all the authority acquired starts to suffer," Medvedev said.
Some new ideas also emerge about some procedures to be applied to settlement of investment disputes within new institutions. "I will only refer to the EU-U.S. Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership," Medvedev said.
"Amongst them, [there is] the proposal to grant a special status to arbitrators working in this system. Notably, this status includes requirements similar to those applied to judges in national courts, and the idea of introducing a procedure of appeals against arbitration awards," he said.
"It remains unclear whether these novelties will maintain the very essence of arbitration, for which it is so highly esteemed," Medvedev said.
