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International Arbitration Forum

Aecon Construction Group Inc. v. Republic of Ecuador, PCA Case No. 2020-19

Case summary

At a glance

Parties
Aecon Construction Group Inc. (Canada) v. the Republic of Ecuador
Case no.
PCA Case No. 2020-19
Forum and rules
Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) administered arbitration; the rules are not stated in the published document
Tribunal
Not identified by role in the published document. Carole Malinvaud, Guido Santiago Tawil and Pierre-Marie Dupuy were copied on the PCA letter
Sector
Construction
Outcome
Procedural only. The Tribunal moved the November 2022 hearing from Washington D.C. to The Hague and set it for 7–11 November 2022.

The dispute

Aecon Construction Group Inc., a Canadian company, brought a claim against the Republic of Ecuador. The case is administered by the Permanent Court of Arbitration. The only published document is a PCA letter on hearing arrangements, with the procedural calendar attached. It does not describe the investment, the measures complained of, the legal basis of the claim or Ecuador's defences. The calendar provides for a possible objection to jurisdiction and a possible counterclaim by Ecuador. It does not say whether either was raised.

Key holdings

  1. On 30 August 2022 the Parties wrote that they preferred to hold the hearing in The Hague and did not object to a shorter hearing. The Tribunal therefore revoked its decision to hold the November hearing in Washington D.C. and ordered that it take place at the PCA's premises in The Hague. PCA letter of 31 August 2022, p. 1
  2. The Tribunal confirmed that the hearing would run from 7 to 11 November 2022, with 12 November 2022 held in reserve. The calendar had originally set it for 7–16 November 2022. PCA letter of 31 August 2022, p. 2; Procedural Calendar
  3. Under the procedural calendar (as of 2 November 2021), Ecuador's Counter-Memorial could include any objection to jurisdiction and any counterclaim. The calendar provided for a Reply (6 May 2022), a Rejoinder (29 July 2022) and a Rejoinder by the claimant on jurisdiction and counterclaim (9 September 2022). Procedural Calendar

Procedural history

  1. 23 April 2021Claimant's Memorial on the Merits due under the procedural calendar.
  2. 8 October 2021Respondent's Counter-Memorial on the Merits and Statement of Defence due, including any jurisdictional objection and/or counterclaim.
  3. 2 November 2021Procedural calendar issued (in the version attached to the published letter), covering document production and further written submissions.
  4. 14 January 2022Tribunal's decision on requests to produce documents due under the calendar.
  5. 6 May 2022Claimant's Reply due; Respondent's Rejoinder due on 29 July 2022.
  6. 31 August 2022PCA letter: the hearing is moved from Washington D.C. to The Hague and fixed for 7–11 November 2022, with 12 November 2022 in reserve.

Tribunal, counsel and experts

Decided by
For the claimant
Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP
For the respondent
Procuraduría General del Estado · Baker Botts LLP

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Keywords

Summary generated with AI from the published documents — refer to the award for the authoritative text.

Country
Economic sector
Treaty
Canada - Ecuador BIT (1996)
Documents