Procedural Posture

This document constitutes the Answer filed by the Bank of South Sudan (Respondent) in response to a Petition to Enforce an ICSID Arbitral Award brought by Qatar National Bank (Petitioner) before the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The underlying arbitration involved a dispute over a sovereign credit facility agreement.

Key Defenses and Legal Positions

In its Answer, the Respondent asserts multiple affirmative defenses against the recognition and enforcement of the ICSID award. Principally, the Respondent contends that the District Court lacks both personal and subject matter jurisdiction, alleging improper service of process under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) and asserting sovereign immunity. Furthermore, the Respondent invokes the act of state doctrine and the foreign sovereign compulsion doctrine, arguing that the termination of the underlying Facility Agreement was mandated by the government of South Sudan.

The Respondent additionally challenges the jurisdiction of the original ICSID tribunal, asserting that the Petitioner is under the control of a foreign state, thereby rendering the dispute state-to-state and outside the scope of the ICSID Convention. Other defenses raised include international comity, fraud, illegality, and unclean hands in relation to the underlying Facility Agreement. Procedurally, the Respondent systematically denies the substantive averments of the Petition, demands strict proof thereof, and requests that the Court deny the Petitioner's request for enforcement and judgment.