STATE JURISDICTION AND IMMUNITIES: Second Circuit Rejects Argentina's Immunity Claim in Action to Confirm ICSID Award

摘要

In 2005, an International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) arbitration tribunal constituted pursuant to the bilateral investment treaty between Argentina and the United States issued an award of $133.2 million plus interest in favor of CMS Gas Transmission Company (CMS). Blue Ridge Investments LLC (Blue Ridge) subsequently purchased CMS's interest in the award. In 2010, Blue Ridge filed a petition in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to confirm the award pursuant to Article 54 of the ICSID Convention. Argentina moved to dismiss, arguing, inter alia, that it was immune from suit under the U.S. Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA). The district court denied the motion, holding that Argentina was not entitled to sovereign immunity under both the FSIA's implied waiver provision and its arbitral award exception.