Pakistan’s motions for keeping accountability of $6 billion against the country in the Reko Diq case by the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in July 2019 have been rejected by Washington DC’s District court.
On July 12, 2019, ICSID levied a $6 billion fine on Pakistan for suspending the agreement for mining at Reko Dig in Balochistan. BVI (British Virgin Islands) court concluded on the issue and attached PIA’s (Pakistan International Airlines) assets in central Paris and New York to execute the award.
According to IA Reporter (Investment Arbitration Reporter), Pakistan argued that it had not rescinded its sovereign immunity under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) because no genuine arbitration agreement appeared.
The court highlighted that under the FSIA, it was not allowed to analyze concerning an ICISD award. Furthermore, they added that it would deserve respect to the arbitral award’s decision on this matter if it were permitted to do so.
