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International Arbitration Forum

Cyrus Capital Partners, L.P. and Contrarian Capital Management v. United Mexican States

Case summary

At a glance

Parties
Cyrus Capital Partners, L.P. and Contrarian Capital Management, LLC v. United Mexican States
Case no.
ICSID Case No. ARB/23/33
Forum and rules
ICSID; ICSID Arbitration Rules in force as of 1 July 2022, as modified by Section B, Chapter 11 of the NAFTA. Place of proceeding: Washington, D.C. Languages: English and Spanish.
Treaty
NAFTA Chapter 11
Tribunal
Lord Collins of Mapesbury (President), David J.A. Cairns, Zachary Douglas
Outcome
The documents provided are procedural only and do not show the outcome. An Award dated 30 July 2026 is listed for this case, but its text was not provided.

The dispute

Two claimants, Cyrus Capital Partners, L.P. and Contrarian Capital Management, LLC, brought a claim against the United Mexican States under Chapter 11 of the NAFTA, administered by ICSID. The procedural orders provided do not describe the investment, the measures complained of or the legal basis of the claims. Mexico raised jurisdictional objections. By agreement of the parties, the Tribunal bifurcated the proceeding so that these objections would be decided first.

Key holdings

  1. By agreement of the parties, the Tribunal bifurcated the proceeding and set a timetable only for the phase on Mexico's jurisdictional objections. A merits timetable will be fixed, if needed, after the Decision on jurisdiction. Procedural Order No. 1, § 14.2
  2. The proceeding is governed by the ICSID Arbitration Rules in force as of 1 July 2022, except where modified by Section B, Chapter 11 of the NAFTA. Washington, D.C. is the place of the proceeding. English and Spanish are the procedural languages, and the Award is to be rendered in both, equally authentic. Procedural Order No. 1, §§ 1.1, 10.1, 11.1, 11.14
  3. Transparency follows the NAFTA Free Trade Commission Note of Interpretation of 31 July 2001. ICSID will publish redacted versions of the orders, decisions, Award, pleadings and admitted non-disputing party submissions. Witness statements, expert reports, transcripts, exhibits and legal authorities will not be published. Disputes over redactions go to the Tribunal on a "Transparency Table", and the Tribunal becomes functus officio only after objections to redactions of the Award are resolved. Procedural Order No. 2, ¶¶ 1–2, 7–8, 12–13
  4. Hearings are closed to the public, but the other NAFTA Parties may attend. Non-disputing NAFTA Parties may make Article 1128 submissions and must treat information received from Mexico as confidential, as if they were a disputing party. Procedural Order No. 1, §§ 21.4, 25.1–25.2
  5. The Tribunal decided the parties' document production requests in Redfern schedules annexed to the order. These rulings are not a decision on any contention on jurisdiction or the merits. Procedural Order No. 4, ¶¶ 4–5
  6. On the parties' agreement, the Tribunal twice extended the calendar. Mexico's Reply on Jurisdiction was moved to 16 April 2025 and the Claimants' Rejoinder to 30 June 2025. The Hearing on Jurisdiction was set for 4–6 November 2025. Procedural Order No. 5, ¶¶ 1–2; Procedural Order No. 6, Annex A

Procedural history

  1. 28 June 2023Notice of Intent.
  2. 30 June 2023Request for Arbitration.
  3. 14 August 2023After registration, ICSID requests an advance of US$300,000, to be paid in equal shares. The Claimants pay their US$150,000 on 21 September 2023.
  4. 6 February 2024Tribunal constituted.
  5. 21 March 2024First session held by video conference.
  6. 3 April 2024Procedural Order No. 1 sets the procedural rules and bifurcates the proceeding, with jurisdiction to be decided first. Procedural Order No. 2 sets the transparency and confidentiality regime.
  7. 4 June 2024Mexico files its Memorial on Jurisdiction.
  8. 18 December 2024Procedural Order No. 4 decides the document production requests.
  9. 2 April 2025Procedural Order No. 6 revises the calendar and sets the Hearing on Jurisdiction for 4–6 November 2025.
  10. 30 July 2026Award (listed; its text was not provided).

Tribunal, counsel and experts

Decided by
For the claimant
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
For the respondent
Secretaría de Economía · Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

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Keywords

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

Case ID
ICSID Case No. ARB/23/33
Country
Treaty
NAFTA and USMCA
Documents
Section