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Qatar National Bank v. South Sudan and Bank of South Sudan, Petitioner’s Memorandum of Points and Authorities (I), November 25, 2025

25 Nov 2025
Qatar National Bank (Q.P.S.C.) v. Republic of South Sudan and Bank of South Sudan, ICSID Case No. ARB/20/40
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Petitioner’s Memorandum of Points and Authorities (I)
Document Details:
LISTED PARTICIPANTS
Petitioner’s Memorandum of Points and Authorities (I)
Participants listed are for this document only and may not include all participants involved in the entire case. Always consult the original documents.
Claimant appointee
Peter Rees
Respondent appointee
Hélène Ruiz Fabri
Tribunal/Panel chair
Ucheora Onwuamaegbu
Arbitrator(s)
Sole Arbitrator
ICSID Annulment Committee president
ICSID Annulment Committee members
WTO Appellate Body members
WTO Appellate Body chair
Judges
Claimant's counsel
Floriane Lavaud, Jovana Crncevic, Alexander Haden
Claimant's law firm
Respondent's counsel
Respondent's law firm
Other counsel
Claimant's expert
Claimant's expert firm
Respondent's expert
Respondent's expert firm
Claimant's witness
Respondent's witness
Other witnesses
Tribunal secretary
Tribunal assistant
Third-party funder
Entities
South Sudan, Bank of South Sudan, Withers Bergman, Qatar National Bank
Country
Print reporter
Document Summary
Petitioner’s Memorandum of Points and Authorities (I)
This summary note is machine-generated. Always consult the original materials.

Procedural Background

This document is a Memorandum of Points and Authorities submitted by Petitioner Qatar National Bank (Q.P.S.C.) in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The Petitioner seeks judgment on the pleadings pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(c) or, in the alternative, summary judgment under Rule 56, against Respondent Bank of South Sudan (BSS). The underlying action seeks the recognition and enforcement of an approximately USD 1 billion ICSID arbitral award rendered jointly and severally against the Republic of South Sudan and BSS.

Principal Legal Issues and Parties' Positions

The principal issue addressed is whether BSS's sixteen affirmative defenses preclude the recognition and enforcement of the ICSID award under 22 U.S.C. § 1650a and Article 54 of the ICSID Convention. BSS's defenses include alleged failures to state a claim, improper service, lack of subject matter jurisdiction, and various merits-based challenges such as fraud and illegality.

The Petitioner argues that the ICSID Convention and its enabling statute strictly limit the Court's role to examining the award's authenticity and enforcing its pecuniary obligations, expressly prohibiting any collateral attack or merits review. Addressing jurisdictional defenses, the Petitioner asserts that the Court possesses subject matter jurisdiction under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA), 28 U.S.C. § 1330(a), because BSS implicitly and explicitly waived sovereign immunity pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1605. Furthermore, the Petitioner contends that personal jurisdiction is established as service of process was properly executed upon BSS in accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 1608(b)(3).

Relief Requested

The Petitioner requests that the Court reject BSS's affirmative defenses as legally incognizable and grant the motion for judgment on the pleadings or summary judgment, thereby enforcing the pecuniary obligations imposed by the ICSID tribunal.