COUR PERMANENTE D'ARBITRAGE
PERMANENT COURT OF ARBITRATION
Professor Dr. Kaj Hobér
3 Verulam Buildings
Gray's Inn
London, WC1R 5NT
United Kingdom
BY E-MAIL:
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Mr. Andrew Cannon
Mr. Lode Van Den Hende
Mr. Iain Maxwell
Ms. Hannah Ambrose
Ms. Louise Barber
Ms. Juliana Penz-Evren
Mr. Jerome Temme
Ms. Helin Laufer
Herbert Smith Freehills LLP
Exchange House
Primrose Street
London, EC2A 2EG
United Kingdom
BY E-MAIL:
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[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[Redacted]
Legal Service
European Commission
Rue de la Loi 200
1049 Brussels
Belgium
BY E-MAIL:
[Redacted]
AG 308104
TELEPHONE: +31 70 302 4140
E-MAIL: [email protected]
11 April 2020
RE: PCA CASE NO. 2020-07: NORD STREAM 2 AG (SWITZERLAND) V. THE EUROPEAN UNION
Dear Mesdames,
Dear Sirs,
I write on the instructions of the Presiding Arbitrator and on behalf of the Tribunal in the above-referenced matter.
The Tribunal acknowledges receipt of the Parties' respective letters dated 8 April 2020, as well as the Respondent's e-mail of 5 April 2020.
1. Seat of Arbitration
Having considered the Parties' respective proposals and the reasons therefor, the Tribunal decides to fix Toronto, Canada as the seat of this arbitration. As per paragraph 2.2 of Draft Procedural Order No. 1,
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such designation is without prejudice to the possibility of holding meetings and hearings with the Parties at the Peace Palace in The Hague or any other appropriate and convenient location.
2. Procedural Calendar
The Tribunal concurs with the Respondent that it would be desirable in this case to have the Claimant submit its memorial on the merits prior to deciding on the bifurcation or trifurcation of the proceedings. Equally, the Respondent should put forward its full case on jurisdiction together with any request it wishes to make that any jurisdictional or admissibility objections be decided as preliminary questions in a separate phase of the proceedings.
Accordingly, subject to further discussion of the dates to be fixed for each step, the Tribunal envisages the steps to be followed in the procedural calendar as follows:
Claimant's Memorial on the Merits and Final Injunction
Respondent's Memorial on Jurisdiction and Admissibility and Request for a Preliminary Phase on Jurisdiction and Admissibility
Claimant's Response to Request for a Preliminary Phase on Jurisdiction and Admissibility
Hearing on Request for a Preliminary Phase on Jurisdiction and Admissibility (if needed)
Tribunal's Decision on Request for a Preliminary Phase on Jurisdiction and Admissibility and Further Procedural Calendar
The Parties are invited to consult each other with a view to determining whether agreement can be found on the dates to be adopted for the steps in the procedural calendar noted above. The Parties are invited to advise the Tribunal by Monday, 20 April 2020 of any agreements reached between them or their positions on the matters on which they disagree.
3. Transparency
As per the Tribunal's decision set forth in the PCA's letter dated 27 March 2020, the transparency regime that will be adopted by the Tribunal is that set forth in section 10 of Revised Draft Procedural Order No. 1. Namely, the UNCITRAL Transparency Rules shall apply to these proceedings, except as modified in paragraphs 10.1 and 10.2 of Revised Draft Procedural Order No. 1. The Tribunal considers this to be consistent with Article 25(4) of the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules and the Parties' agreement on the publication of the award subject to redaction of sensitive information.
4. [Redacted]
5. First Procedural Meeting
Under the circumstances, the Tribunal no longer considers it necessary to hold a procedural meeting with the Parties at this juncture.
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Please do not hesitate to contact me at the details set out above, or my colleague Mr. Neil Nucup (tel.: +31 70 302 4128, e-mail: [email protected]), should you have any queries concerning this letter.
Yours sincerely,
Signature
Martin Doe
Senior Legal Counsel
cc: Justice David Unterhalter SC
(by e-mail: [email protected])
Prof. Philippe Sands
(by e-mail: [email protected])
Prof. Ricardo Ramírez Hernández
(by e-mail: [email protected])