PCA CASE No. 2019-46
IN THE MATTER OF AN ARBITRATION
BEFORE A TRIBUNAL CONSTITUTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE
TRADE PROMOTION AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE REPUBLIC OF PERÚ AND THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
- and -
THE UNCITRAL ARBITRATION RULES 2013
-between-
THE RENCO GROUP, INC.
-and-
THE REPUBLIC OF PERÚ
The Arbitral Tribunal
Judge Bruno Simma (Presiding Arbitrator)
Prof. Horacio Grigera Naón
Mr. J. Christopher Thomas QC
3 February 2020
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1.1 The provisions of this and future orders shall apply in addition to the Terms of Appointment executed by the Parties and the Tribunal.
1.2 Procedural orders made by the Tribunal shall remain in force unless expressly amended or terminated.
2.1 The legal place (or “seat”) of the arbitration shall be Paris. Subject to clause 6.2 of the Terms of Appointment, the location of the hearings shall be Washington, DC, or such other location as agreed by the Parties or established by the Tribunal following comments by the Parties.
3.1 The languages of the arbitration shall be English and Spanish, further to the rules set forth below.
3.2 The Tribunal’s awards, decisions, and procedural orders shall be issued in English with a translation into Spanish. In the case of awards, the translation shall be accompanied by a certification of the accuracy of the translation issued by the PCA or a certified translator.
3.3 Routine, administrative, or procedural communications between the Tribunal, the PCA, and the Parties shall be in English.
3.4 The Parties shall make their written submissions and related translations as set forth in Section 4 below.
3.5 Oral argument before the Tribunal shall be made in either English or Spanish, with simultaneous interpretation provided from one language into the other. Transcripts shall be taken in both languages.
3.6 Documents produced in response to requests or orders for production may be produced in their original language. If a Party submits any such document as an exhibit, the provisions of this section shall apply.
3.7 Deadlines for reply submissions shall begin to run upon submission of the document to which they respond, and not from the date translations are filed.
3.8 Informal translations will be accepted as accurate unless contested by the other Party, in which case, the Parties shall attempt to reach agreement on the translation (including, if necessary, through the introduction of certified translations). If no agreement is reached, the Tribunal shall take the appropriate decision, and may for this purpose appoint a certified translator to have the document(s) in question translated.
4.1 The procedural calendar for the arbitration is enclosed as Annex 1 to this Procedural Order.
4.2 On or before the date of the deadline for any written submission, the Party in question shall send the submission to the Tribunal, PCA, and opposing counsel, by e-mail or secure file-sharing
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platform, in accordance with the Terms of Appointment, further to the rules and definitions set forth below:
4.3 All written submissions, including witness statements and expert reports, shall be provided as text-searchable PDF files with a hyper-linked table of contents.
4.4 The Parties shall also send hard copies of written submissions if so requested by any member of the Tribunal or the PCA.
4.5 For any simultaneous submissions, each side shall submit all documents only to the PCA. The PCA will then distribute copies to the Tribunal and opposing counsel once both submissions have been received.
4.6 Unless otherwise provided, all time limits shall refer to midnight on the day of the deadline at the place where counsel for the respective Party is located.
4.7 Extensions may be agreed between the Parties or granted by the Tribunal for justifiable reasons, provided that such extensions do not affect the dates fixed for any hearing or other meeting and that the request for an extension is submitted as soon as practicable after a Party becomes aware of the circumstances which prevent it from complying with the deadline.
5.1 Each Party may request the production of documents from the other Party in accordance with the procedural calendar for the arbitration. Requests for the production of documents shall be in
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writing and set forth reasons for the request in respect of each document or class of documents requested. Unless the requested Party objects to production, it shall produce the requested documents within the applicable time limit.
5.2 If the requested Party objects to production, the following procedure shall apply:
5.3 Pursuant to the UNCITRAL Rules, the Tribunal may also, on its own motion, request the production of documents.
5.4 The Parties shall not copy the Tribunal or the PCA on their correspondence or exchanges of documents in the course of the document production phase. Documents produced by the Parties in response to document production requests shall only form part of the evidentiary record if a Party subsequently submits them as exhibits to its written submissions or upon authorization of the Tribunal after the exchange of submissions.
5.5 Should a Party fail to produce documents as ordered by the Tribunal, the Tribunal may draw the inferences it deems appropriate in relation to the documents not produced.
6.1 In addition to the relevant provisions of the UNCITRAL Rules and the provisions on document production above, the Tribunal may use the IBA Rules on the Taking of Evidence in International Arbitration 2010 as an additional guideline when considering matters of evidence.
6.2 The Parties shall submit with their written submissions all evidence and authorities on which they intend to rely in support of the factual and legal arguments advanced therein, including witness statements, expert reports, exhibits, legal authorities and all other evidence and authorities in whatever form.
6.3 In the subsequent written submissions, such evidence shall only be submitted in support of the factual or legal arguments advanced in rebuttal to the other side’s prior written submission or in relation to new evidence arising from document production or new facts that have arisen.
6.4 Apart from the written submissions set forth in the procedural calendar, the Tribunal shall not consider any evidence that has not been introduced as part of the written submissions of the Parties, unless the Tribunal grants leave on the basis of a reasoned request justifying why such
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documents were not submitted earlier together with the Parties’ written submissions or showing other exceptional circumstances. Should such leave be granted to one side, the other side shall have an opportunity to submit counter-evidence. A Party attempting to submit such additional documents may not annex the documents when it makes its request to show good cause, and the other Party shall be afforded an opportunity to comment on any such request. If the Tribunal grants such an application for submission of an additional or responsive document, the adverse Party’s due process rights shall be respected.
6.5 After the filing of its last written submission before the hearing, a Party may not present new evidence. However, if the Tribunal determines that exceptional circumstances exist, it may admit new evidence or allow a witness or expert to submit an additional witness statement or expert report before the hearing. If the Tribunal admits new evidence or additional witness statement or expert report into the record, it shall ensure that the other Party is afforded sufficient opportunity to make its observations concerning such new evidence and to submit evidence or witness or expert statements in rebuttal.
6.6 The Parties shall identify each exhibit submitted to the Tribunal with a distinct number. Each exhibit submitted by the Claimant shall begin with a letter “C” followed by the applicable number (i.e., C-1, C-2, etc.). Each exhibit submitted by the Respondent shall begin with a letter “R” followed by the applicable number (i.e., R-1, R-2, etc.). The Parties shall use sequential numbering throughout the proceedings. Translations of exhibits shall be appended to the original exhibit.
6.7 The Parties shall identify each legal authority submitted to the Tribunal with a distinct number. Each legal authority submitted by the Claimant shall begin with the letters “CLA” followed by the applicable number (i.e., CLA-1, CLA-2, etc.). Each legal authority submitted by the Respondent shall begin with the letters “RLA” followed by the applicable number (i.e., RLA-1, RLA-2, etc.). The Parties shall use sequential numbering throughout the proceedings.
6.8 The Parties shall identify each witness statement and expert report submitted to the Tribunal with a distinct number. Each witness statement submitted by the Claimant shall begin with the letters “CWS” followed by the applicable number and name (i.e., CWS-1 [Smith], CWS-2 [Jones], etc.). Each expert report submitted by the Claimant shall begin with the letters “CER” followed by the applicable number (i.e., CER-1 [Smith], CER-2 [Jones], etc.). Each witness statement submitted by the Respondent shall begin with the letters “RWS” followed by the applicable number (i.e., RWS-1 [Smith], RWS-2 [Jones], etc.). Each expert report submitted by the Respondent shall begin with the letters “RER” followed by the applicable number (i.e., RER-1 [Smith], RER-2 [Jones], etc.). The Parties shall use sequential numbering throughout the proceedings.
6.9 Excel spreadsheets or other calculations performed by experts shall be provided in their native electronic format (i.e., in Excel format rather than PDF).
6.10 All evidence submitted to the Tribunal shall be deemed to be authentic and complete, including evidence submitted in the form of copies, unless a Party disputes within a reasonable time its authenticity or completeness, or the Party submitting the relevant evidence indicates the respects in which any document is incomplete.
6.11 The Parties and the Tribunal shall be free to make reference to the record of the proceedings in The Renco Group, Inc. and Doe Run Resources Corp. v. Republic of Peru and Activos Mineros S.A.C., PCA Case No. 2019-47 (the “Contract Case” or “Renco III”).
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7.1 Any person may present evidence as a witness, including a Party or a Party’s officer, employee, or other representative.
7.2 For each witness, a written and signed witness statement shall be submitted to the Tribunal. Where in exceptional circumstances a Party is unable to obtain such a statement from a witness, the evidence of that witness shall be admitted only with leave of the Tribunal and, if the Tribunal grants such leave, in accordance with its directions.
7.3 Each witness statement shall contain at least the following:
7.4 It shall not be improper for counsel to meet with witnesses and potential witnesses to establish the facts, prepare the witness statements, and prepare for examination at a hearing.
7.5 Any issues relating to the testimony of witnesses at an oral hearing shall be addressed by the Tribunal in a subsequent pre-hearing procedural order, after consultation with the Parties, further to the rules and definitions set forth below:
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8.1 Each Party may retain and submit the evidence of one or more experts to the Tribunal.
8.2 For each expert, a written and signed expert report shall be submitted to the Tribunal.
8.3 Expert reports shall be accompanied by any documents or information upon which they rely, unless such documents or information have already been submitted with the Parties’ written submissions, in which case the reference to the number of the exhibit shall suffice.
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8.4 It shall not be improper for counsel to meet with experts and potential experts to discuss the expert reports and examination at a hearing.
8.5 Any issues relating to the testimony of experts at an oral hearing shall be addressed by the Tribunal in a subsequent pre-hearing procedural order, after consultation with the Parties.
8.6 The Tribunal may, on its own initiative or at the request of a Party, appoint one or more experts. The Tribunal shall consult with the Parties on the selection, terms of reference (including expert fees), and conclusions of any such expert.
8.7 The procedure for examining experts at a hearing shall be the same as the provisions set out above at Section 7.5 except that, without leave of the Tribunal, direct examination of experts shall not exceed 45 minutes and shall be limited to the scope of prior testimony.
9.1 After consultation with the Parties, including based on a pre-hearing organization conference call, the Tribunal shall issue, for each hearing, a procedural order convening the meeting, establishing its place, time, agenda, and all other technical and ancillary aspects, further to the rules set forth below.
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document(s) from which it is derived. The Party submitting such exhibits shall provide them in hard copy to the other Party, the Tribunal Members, the Tribunal Secretary, the Assistant to the Tribunal, the court reporter(s), and interpreter(s) at any hearing (and in any event not prior to any hearing). No new evidence or testimony shall be admissible, except in accordance with Section 6.4 hereof.
9.2 The PCA shall arrange for simultaneous interpretation and live transcription of oral argument and testimony where necessary, further to the rules set forth below:
9.3 Post-hearing briefs, statements of costs, closure of hearings and drafting of rulings shall be treated further to the rules set forth below:
10.1 Subject to the provisions of Article 10.21 of the Treaty, the arbitration shall be conducted in accordance with the UNCITRAL Rules on Transparency in Treaty-Based Investor-State Arbitration (the “UNCITRAL Transparency Rules”), with the PCA assuming the role of the “repository” foreseen under the UNCITRAL Transparency Rules with respect to this arbitration.
10.2 The information and documents regarding the arbitration that the PCA shall make available to the public shall consist of the following, except as otherwise decided by the Tribunal taking into account relevant factors and comments of the Parties: (a) the notice of intent; (b) the notice of arbitration; (c) pleadings, memorials, and briefs submitted to the tribunal by a disputing party and
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any written submissions submitted pursuant to Articles 10.20.2, 10.20.3 and 10.25; (d) minutes or transcripts of hearings of the tribunal, where available; and (e) orders, awards, and decisions of the Tribunal.
10.3 The PCA shall arrange for a public webcast of any hearing, except as otherwise decided by the Tribunal.
10.4 Any Party may request to designate information, at the time it is submitted to the Tribunal, as confidential or protected information in accordance with the UNCITRAL Transparency Rules and Article 10.21 of the Treaty by submitting, in addition to the original version of the document, a redacted version of the document excluding the confidential or protected information. The request is subject to Party comments and a decision by the Tribunal.
10.5 Any Party may designate information contained in the Tribunal’s awards, decisions, and procedural orders as confidential or protected information in accordance with the UNCITRAL Transparency Rules and Article 10.21 of the Treaty by submitting a redacted version of the award, decision, or procedural order excluding the confidential or protected information within 15 calendar days of the issuance of the award, decision, or procedural order. If more than one Party submits a redacted version of the award, decision, or procedural order, the Parties shall attempt to agree and submit a joint redacted version within 21 calendar days of the issuance of the award, decision, or procedural order.
10.6 The Tribunal shall decide any objection regarding the designation of information as confidential or protected information.
10.7 Confidential or protected information shall be kept confidential from all persons other than the Parties, their representatives, witnesses, experts, the Tribunal, the PCA, and the Assistant to the Tribunal, except as otherwise decided by the Tribunal.
11.1 In accordance with Article 10.20.2, a Non-Disputing Party to the Treaty may make oral and written submissions regarding the interpretation of the Treaty. The Parties may comment on any Non-Disputing Party submissions in subsequent pleadings.
11.2 In accordance with Article 10.20.3 of the Treaty, the Tribunal shall have the authority to accept and consider amicus curiae submissions.
11.3 The procedure with respect to amicus curiae shall be as follows:
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12.1 The Parties and their representatives shall abstain from conduct that may result in the aggravation of the dispute.
So ordered by the Tribunal.
Signature
_____________________________
Judge Bruno Simma
(Presiding Arbitrator)
On behalf of the Tribunal
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Annex 1: Procedural Calendar
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Respondent’s Memorial on Article 10.20.5 Objections | Friday, 20 December 2019 |
| First Procedural Meeting | Tuesday, 14 January 2020 |
| Claimant’s Counter-Memorial on Article 10.20.5 Objections | Friday, 21 February 2020 |
| Non-Disputing State Party Submission | Friday, 6 March 2020 |
| Parties’ Comments on Non-Disputing State Party Submission | Friday, 20 March 2020 |
| Hearing on Article 10.20.5 Objections (Washington DC) | Wednesday, 1 April 2020 |
The Tribunal shall confer with the Parties at the conclusion of the hearing with respect to the need for further submissions, if any.
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Annex 2: Model Redfern Schedule for Document Requests
| No. | Documents or category of documents requested (requesting Party) |
Relevance and materiality, incl. references to submission (requesting Party) |
Reasoned objections to document production request (objecting Party) |
Response to objections to document production request (requesting Party) |
Decision (Tribunal) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| References to Submissions, Exhibits, Witness Statements or Expert Reports | Comments | |||||