By JIGGSLAW®. The Peruvian Government announced that the arbitration against Panamericana TV, which was conducted under UNCITRAL Rules and administered by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), had a favourable outcome. The company and other investors claimed $637 million, and the tribunal dismissed the claims and ordered the company to pay 65% of Peru’s legal fees incurred during the proceeding.
According to information, the CPA General Secretary notified the Peruvian Government on December 1, 2022, of the final award rendered in the arbitration initiated by the Pan-American company under the Agreement on the Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments between the Swiss Confederation and the Republic of Peru (Peru- Switzerland BIT).
The arbitral tribunal, composed of José Miguel Júdice (chair), Raquel A. Rodríguez and Yves Derains, dismissed all claimant’s claims due to a lack of merit and ordered to pay 65% of Peru’s legal fees incurred during the proceeding.
The dispute
The dispute focused on “alleged Peru-Switzerland BIT breaches as a result of an interim measure, granted to Mr. Genaro Parker, which was ordered by the Carabayllo Hybrid Court’s Order dated December 7, 2001 (“Order on Interim Measures”), on which shareholders’ shares and the exercise of the functions of the director’s board were temporarily placed on hold, and Mr. Genaro Parker was appointed as judicial administrator of Pantel,” according to the press release.
The tribunal decided that the actions taken by Genaro Delgado Parker, the court-appointed administrator, “were not attributable to the Peruvian Government,” and according to the Peru-Switzerland BIT, the claimant’s claims did not constitute a breach of Peru’s obligations.
The tribunal “denied Pantel’s claims on their entirety, including allegations of alleged legal assignment of its property rights as a result of the application of the Interim Measures Order, rejecting any characterization of it as an expropriation measure taken by the Peruvian Government, and the claimant’s claim for a CHF 588,897,664 (approximately $637 million) compensation over alleged damages,” according to the Peruvian Government.
