Berkeley Exploration Ltd. v. Kingdom of Spain

Case summary

At a glance

Parties: Berkeley Exploration Limited (wholly owned subsidiary of Berkeley Energia Limited) v. Kingdom of Spain
Case no.: ICSID Case No. ARB/24/22
Forum and rules: ICSID
Treaty: Energy Charter Treaty
Sector: Uranium mining
Outcome: Pending. The only published document is the claimant's press release announcing the Request for Arbitration.
Amount: Claimed: preliminary compensation in the order of US$1 billion (US$1,000,000,000)

The dispute

Berkeley Exploration Limited (BEL) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkeley Energia Limited. It invested in Spain through its Spanish subsidiary, Berkeley Minera España SA (BME), which holds a 30-year mining licence for the Salamanca uranium project. In May 2021 a new Spanish climate change and energy transition law came into force; its Article 10 bars new applications for exploration and exploitation concessions for radioactive minerals. In November 2021 the Ministry for the Ecological Transition (MITECO) rejected BME's application for the NSC II authorisation, after an unfavourable report by the Nuclear Safety Council. BEL says the Council acted arbitrarily and in a discriminatory way, and that MITECO ignored BME's Improvement Report. In December 2023 the High Court of Justice of Castilla y León annulled BME's exceptional land-use authorisation and its urbanism licence. BEL says these acts breached several provisions of the Energy Charter Treaty. The published document does not set out Spain's position.

Key holdings

No decision has been published. The only document is the claimant's press release of 28 May 2024. It announces that the Request for Arbitration was filed with ICSID under the Energy Charter Treaty, seeking preliminary compensation of about US$1 billion. p. 2

Procedural history

May 2021Spain's new law barring new concession applications for radioactive minerals comes into force.
July 2021The Board of the Nuclear Safety Council issues an unfavourable report on BME's NSC II application.
November 2021MITECO notifies BME that it has rejected the NSC II application.
November 2022BEL sends Spain a written notification of an investment dispute under Article 26.1 of the ECT.
April 2023BME files a contentious-administrative appeal before the Spanish National Court against MITECO's decision.
December 2023The High Court of Justice of Castilla y León annuls the land-use authorisation (AEUL) and the urbanism licence (UL). BME later withdraws its cassation appeals to the Supreme Court.
28 May 2024Berkeley announces that BEL has filed a Request for Arbitration with ICSID.