Introductory Note ().pdf

Saipem S.p.A., an Italian company, brought a case against the People's Republic of Bangladesh to the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) under the 1990 Agreement Between the Government of the Republic of Italy and the Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh on the Promotion and Protection of Investments. The dispute concerned a gas pipeline construction project in Bangladesh, where Saipem had a contractual dispute with Petrobangla, a Bangladeshi state entity, which led to an ICC award in favor of Saipem. However, the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh held that the award could neither be set aside nor enforced. Saipem claimed that Petrobangla had colluded with the courts of Bangladesh to sabotage the ICC arbitration, resulting in the expropriation of its investment without compensation. The ICSID Tribunal found that it had jurisdiction over the dispute, as the facts alleged by Saipem were capable of constituting an expropriation under the Treaty, and that the Claimant's overall operation in Bangladesh qualified as an investment under the ICSID Convention and the Treaty. The Tribunal also recommended that Petrobangla refrain from drawing on the warranty bond but rejected the request for the return of the retention money.