{"id":14546,"date":"2024-04-17T17:45:12","date_gmt":"2024-04-17T17:45:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jgu.edu.in\/mappingADR\/?p=14546"},"modified":"2024-04-17T17:45:12","modified_gmt":"2024-04-17T17:45:12","slug":"olin-holdings-ltd-v-state-of-libya","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jgu.edu.in\/mappingADR\/olin-holdings-ltd-v-state-of-libya\/","title":{"rendered":"Olin Holdings Ltd. v. State of Libya"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Judgment Name:<\/strong> Olin Holdings Ltd. v. State of Libya<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Citation<\/strong>: 21-cv-4150 (JGK)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Court<\/strong>: United States District Court for the Southern District of New York<\/p>\n\n\n\n Coram<\/strong>: John G. Koeltl, J.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Date<\/strong>: 14th April 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Keywords<\/strong>: Investor-State Arbitration, Arbitrability, Jurisdiction, ICC Rules, International Arbitration<\/p>\n\n\n\n Facts<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Olin Holdings Ltd. (\u201cOlin\u201d), a company incorporated in Cyprus, was a foreign investor in the State of Libya, investing in a dairy and juice factory, and was governed by the Cyprus-Libya BIT<\/a>. In 2006, soon after Olin had completed the construction of its factory in Libya, it was served with an eviction notice, and the Libyan Government expropriated and demolished a large part of Olin\u2019s factory site. In the same year, Olin initiated judicial proceedings before the domestic Libyan courts, which extended to 2014. Olin instituted arbitration proceedings against Libya before the International Chamber of Commerce (\u201cICC\u201d) in 2014, with the partial award on jurisdiction and the final award<\/a> being rendered in 2016 and 2018, respectively. Libya contested the Tribunal\u2019s jurisdiction, but the Tribunal held that Olin\u2019s domestic lawsuits in Libya did not preclude it from invoking arbitration. The Tribunal concluded that Article 9(2) of the Cyprus-Libya BIT<\/a> was not a fork-in-the-road clause, and thus arbitration and litigation would not be mutually exclusive. Olin moved the Supreme Court of the State of New York in 2020 to confirm the 2018 Final Award, and Libya moved to oppose Olin\u2019s petition before this present Court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Issue:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Whether the Tribunal\u2019s Jurisdiction Award was valid?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Analysis:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Court held for the Claimants, upholding the validity of the award. Firstly, it considered whether the Jurisdictional Award was a decision on the substantive arbitrability of the parties\u2019 dispute or a resolution of a procedural gateway issue to arbitration. It was decided that the Jurisdictional Award fell in the latter category, as the presumption that the arbitrability of the dispute is to be decided by the arbitral tribunal would apply here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Court further went on to hold that even if the Award were a decision on the substantive arbitrability of the dispute, it would be valid. Relying on Schneider v. Thailand<\/em><\/a>,<\/em> the Court held that when there are explicit rules (within an investment treaty in this case) to empower an arbitral tribunal to decide issues of arbitrability, the provision serves as clear and unmistakable evidence of the parties\u2019 intent to delegate such issues to an arbitrator. The Court held that certain contractual provisions governing Olin and Libya provided clear and unmistakable evidence of the parties\u2019 intent to arbitrate arbitrability. Olin and Libya\u2019s Terms of Reference provided that dispute resolution would take place through arbitration under the ICC Rules. As per Article 6, Section 3 of the ICC Rules, an arbitral tribunal decides the arbitrability of the dispute. Thus, the Court held that the Tribunal was correct in its decision on arbitrability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n