Basel LLC and Ronald Waldmann v. Georgia

At a glance

Parties

Basel LLC and Ronald Waldmann v. Georgia

Case no.

ICSID Case No. ARB/23/23

Forum and rules

ICSID Convention; ICSID Arbitration Rules in force as of 1 July 2022; UNCITRAL Transparency Rules (as adapted); place of proceeding Paris, France

Treaty

Switzerland–Georgia BIT, signed 3 June 2014

Tribunal

Prof. Eduardo Zuleta (President), Prof. Andrés Jana Linetzky, Mr. Mark A. Kantor

Outcome

Procedural orders only; the published documents do not show the outcome of the case.

The dispute

Basel LLC and Mr. Ronald Waldmann brought an ICSID arbitration against Georgia under the 2014 bilateral investment treaty between Switzerland and Georgia. The only published documents are two procedural orders of 30 April 2024. They do not describe the investment, the measures challenged, the claims or Georgia's defences. They set the procedural rules and the transparency regime for the case.

Key holdings

1. The proceeding is governed by the ICSID Arbitration Rules in force as of 1 July 2022. The Tribunal was constituted on 17 January 2024, and the parties confirmed they had no objection to any member. PO1 §§ 1.1, 2.1
2. Paris, France, is the place of the proceeding. English is the procedural language. The parties advance the direct costs in equal shares, without prejudice to the final allocation of costs. PO1 §§ 10.1, 11.1, 12.1
3. Under Article 10(3) of the BIT, the UNCITRAL Transparency Rules apply to the proceeding. The Tribunal adapted them under Article 1(3)(b) after consulting the parties. As a result, Article 48(5) of the ICSID Convention and ICSID Arbitration Rules 62 to 67 do not apply. PO2 ¶¶ 5–7 and n. 1
4. Hearings will be broadcast by video link to designated rooms with a 30-minute delay. Third persons may not attend in person. A protocol will protect confidential information during hearings. PO2 ¶ 11
5. A party must object to the publication of a document within 21 days, using the Transparency Schedule. The parties are to agree on redactions to the Award. Any disagreement must be notified within 45 days and is decided by the former members of the Tribunal. ICSID acts as the Repository. PO2 ¶¶ 12–17

Procedural history

1. 29 June 2023After the Request for Arbitration was registered, ICSID asked the Claimants for an advance of US$150,000. ICSID received the payment on 25 July 2023.
2. 17 January 2024Tribunal constituted.
3. 14 March 2024First session held by video conference.
4. 30 April 2024Procedural Order No. 1 on procedural matters issued.
5. 30 April 2024Procedural Order No. 2 on transparency and confidentiality issued.

Tribunal, counsel and experts

Decided by

• Eduardo Zuleta President
• Andrés Jana Linetzky Co-arbitrator
• Mark Kantor Co-arbitrator

For the claimant

DLA Piper France LLP

For the respondent

Squire Patton Boggs · Department of State Representation in Arbitration and Foreign Courts

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Keywords

• Switzerland–Georgia BIT
• UNCITRAL Transparency Rules
• transparency
• confidentiality
• 2022 ICSID Arbitration Rules
• procedural order
• public hearings
• redaction of award
• document production
• Redfern schedule
• bifurcation
• Georgia

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