by ACI Partners

News13 April 20160 comments

Moldova wins against Komstroy (formely Energoalians) in ECT dispute

Chisinau, Moldova, 13 April 2016 – ACI Partners News.

Yesterday, 12 April 2016, the Court of Appeal of Paris issued a judgment in Republic of Moldova v. Komstroy (formely Energoalians) case.

Republic of Moldova was assisted by DLA Piper and ACI Partners in this mediatized and highly important litigation for Moldova.

The Court of Appeal agreed with the arguments made by the attorneys Michael Ostrove and Théobald Naud, prominent specialists in international law disputes, and annulled the 25 October 2013 arbitral award in the matter of Energoalians v. Republic of Moldova.

As a background information, it should be recalled that in 25 October 2013 arbitral award the International Court of Arbitration in Paris ruled that Moldova must pay Energoalians US$ 47 million. In 2015 Moldova was ordered to pay to the legal successor to Energoalians, a company called Komstroy.

The dispute has a long history dating back to 2010, when the Ukrainian company Energoalians brought claims against Moldova arising out of the non-payment of accumulated debt by the State-owned entity Moldtranselectro and by another former partner of Energoalians, for energy supplied in 1999-2000.

It is also worth noting that, as media reported, this arbitral award had a drastic effect on Moldovan state-owned company MoldATSA the bank accounts of which were blocked starting from April, 2015 in lieu of execution of the said arbitral award. MoldATSA is responsible for directing airplanes in Moldovan airspace and hampering with its operations thus endangered air traffic security in Moldova.

Annulment of the 25 October 2013 arbitral award is an important win for the Republic of Moldova and we would like to congratulate our French colleagues, Michael Ostrove and Théobald Naud, as well as Igor Odobescu and Carolina Parcalab, who invested a great deal of time, effort and professionalism in this matter.

This is the second time when DLA Piper and ACI Partners successfully collaborate in defending the interests of Moldova in front of an international forum, following the premier ICSID litigation that our state faced following the claims brought by Franck Charles Arif against Moldova, claiming more than EUR 50 million of damages.