Arbor Confections Inc., Mark Alan Ducorsky and Brad Ducorsky v. United Mexican States, ICSID Case No. ARB/23/25

At a glance

Parties

Arbor Confections Inc., Mark Alan Ducorsky and Brad Ducorsky v. United Mexican States

Case no.

ICSID Case No. ARB/23/25

Forum and rules

ICSID Convention arbitration; ICSID Arbitration Rules in force from 1 July 2022, as modified by Section B of NAFTA Chapter 11; place of proceeding Washington, D.C.; language Spanish

Treaty

NAFTA Chapter 11

Tribunal

José Miguel Júdice (President), David J.A. Cairns, Brigitte Stern

Outcome

Pending in the published documents. The merits timetable was suspended until the Tribunal decides Mexico's objection under ICSID Arbitration Rule 41. A decision on that objection dated 19 December 2025 is listed, but its text is not included, so its outcome is not shown.

The dispute

Arbor Confections Inc., Mark Alan Ducorsky and Brad Ducorsky brought claims against Mexico under Chapter 11 of NAFTA. They filed a Notice of Intent on 30 March 2023 and a Request for Arbitration on 30 June 2023. The texts of those filings are not included, and the procedural orders provided do not describe the investment, the measures challenged or the claims. Mexico raised a preliminary objection under ICSID Arbitration Rule 41 that the claims manifestly lack legal merit. The published orders deal only with procedure: the procedural rules, transparency, the suspension of the merits timetable and the organisation of the Rule 41 hearing.

Key holdings

1. The proceeding is governed by the ICSID Arbitration Rules in force from 1 July 2022, except as modified by Section B of NAFTA Chapter 11. The place of the proceeding is Washington, D.C. Spanish is the procedural language, and the award is to be issued in Spanish and English, both versions being authentic. Procedural Order No. 1, §§ 1.1, 11.1, 12.1, 12.14
2. Under the transparency regime, ICSID publishes all decisions, orders and the award, the Notice of Intent, the Request for Arbitration and any admitted submissions by other NAFTA Parties and amici. Supporting exhibits, legal authorities, expert reports and witness statements are excluded. A party may designate information as confidential on listed grounds, using a 15-day redaction procedure. The Tribunal decides any disputes about redactions. Procedural Order No. 2, ¶¶ 7, 11–18
3. The four timetable "options" in Procedural Order No. 1 are alternatives and do not run at the same time. Until the Tribunal decides the Rule 41 objection, Options 2, 3 and 4 do not apply. The deadline for the claimants' Memorial and all later deadlines are therefore suspended. Procedural Order No. 3, ¶¶ 17–21
4. The claimants' request for a four-week extension to file their Memorial, and the parties' other requests, were dismissed. The costs of Procedural Order No. 3 are reserved for a later stage. Procedural Order No. 3, ¶ 21(d)–(e)
5. The Rule 41 hearing was set to take place virtually on 18 November 2025, closed to the public and held in Spanish. Each side had 75 minutes for its main pleading and 25 minutes for its reply, limited to the Rule 41 objections and the questions the Tribunal put on 26 September 2025. Procedural Order No. 4, ¶¶ 5, 7, 12, 14

Procedural history

1. 30 March 2023Claimants' Notice of Intent.
2. 30 June 2023Claimants' Request for Arbitration. After registration, ICSID asked the claimants on 26 July 2023 for an advance of US$150,000.
3. 29 January 2025Tribunal constituted.
4. 27 February 2025First session held by videoconference.
5. 28 February 2025Procedural Order No. 1 (procedural rules and alternative timetables) and Procedural Order No. 2 (transparency and confidentiality) issued.
6. 4 August 2025Procedural Order No. 3: the merits timetable is suspended pending the decision on Mexico's Rule 41 objection, and the claimants' extension request is dismissed.
7. 6 October 2025Procedural Order No. 4 organises the Rule 41 hearing.
8. 18 November 2025Date set for the virtual hearing on the Rule 41 objection.
9. 19 December 2025Decision on the Respondent's objection under ICSID Arbitration Rule 41. The text is not included, and its outcome is not shown.
10. 5 and 20 February 2026Procedural Orders No. 5 and No. 6 issued. Their texts are not included.

Tribunal, counsel and experts

Decided by

• José Miguel Júdice President
• David J.A. Cairns Co-arbitrator
• Brigitte Stern Co-arbitrator

For the claimant

Reed Smith LLP · Osuna González y Asociados, S.C. · Bergolla Arbitration

For the respondent

Secretaría de Economía, Dirección General de Consultoría Jurídica de Comercio Internacional · Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP · Tereposky & DeRose LLP

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Keywords

• NAFTA Chapter 11
• Mexico
• Rule 41 objection
• manifest lack of legal merit
• ICSID Arbitration Rules 2022
• suspension of proceedings
• procedural timetable
• bifurcation
• extension of time
• transparency
• confidential information
• FTC Notes of Interpretation 2001
• NAFTA Article 1128
• non-disputing Party submissions
• amicus curiae
• tribunal assistant
• virtual hearing

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