In Riverside Coffee v. Nicaragua, the dispute was initiated by Riverside Coffee, LLC, a United States company, against the Republic of Nicaragua under the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA). The claimant's investment, held through its Nicaraguan subsidiary Inagrosa S.A., was a large agricultural plantation, Hacienda Santa Fé, involved in coffee, avocado, and forestry. The claims arose from the invasion and occupation of the plantation in June and July 2018 by armed individuals, which the claimant alleged was orchestrated or supported by the Nicaraguan government. Riverside sought approximately USD 241 million in economic damages and USD 45 million in moral damages for breaches of national treatment, most-favoured-nation treatment, the minimum standard of treatment, including fair and equitable treatment (FET) and full protection and security (FPS), and expropriation. The arbitration was administered by ICSID under its 2006 Arbitration Rules. Nicaragua denied any involvement in the invasion, framing it as a private land dispute with historical roots involving former Contra rebels. The respondent raised two primary defenses: first, that its actions were shielded by the essential security interests exception in DR-CAFTA Article 21.2(b) due to widespread civil unrest in the country at the time; and second, that its obligations were limited by the treaty's provision on civil strife in Article 10.6. The tribunal, presided over by Veijo Heiskanen with arbitrators Lucy Greenwood and Philippe Couvreur, first examined the issue of attribution. It concluded that the claimant had failed to provide sufficient evidence to attribute the conduct of the private invaders to the Nicaraguan state under the ILC Articles on State Responsibility, finding the evidence presented to be largely hearsay or inconclusive. The tribunal then assessed the conduct of the state itself. It accepted Nicaragua's defense under the essential security exception for the period from late May to the end of July 2018, finding that the self-judging clause was invoked in good faith amidst a period of generalized civil strife, thereby precluding liability for any treaty breaches during that time. For the period after July 2018, the tribunal analyzed the alleged breaches on the merits. It found no violation of the full protection and security standard, deeming Nicaragua's efforts to peacefully remove the invaders, which concluded in August 2021, to be reasonably diligent under the circumstances, particularly given the claimant's own inaction to recover the property. The claims for breach of fair and equitable treatment and expropriation were also dismissed, with the tribunal finding no evidence of bad faith, denial of due process, or a taking of property. Consequently, all of the claimant's claims were dismissed on the merits. In its final award, the tribunal ordered Riverside Coffee to bear its own costs and to pay the Republic of Nicaragua's full legal costs, amounting to USD 8,240,445.86. The fees and expenses of the tribunal and ICSID were ordered to be shared equally between the parties.