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ICSID
INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR SETTLEMENT OF INVESTMENT DISPUTES
1818 H STREET, NW | WASHINGTON, DC 20433 | USA
TELEPHONE +1 (202) 458 1534 | FACSIMILE +1 (202) 522 2615
WWW.WORLDBANK.ORG/ICSID
July 23, 2020
By email
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
c/o Dr. Reinaldo Enrique Muñoz
Pedroza
Viceprocurador General de la
República (E)
Mr. Henry Rodríguez Facchinetti
Gerente General de Litigio
Procuraduría General de la República
Bolivariana de Venezuela
Paseo Los Ilustres c/c Av. Lazo Martí
Ed. Sede Procuraduría General de la
República, Piso 8
Urb. Santa Mónica
Caracas 1040
Venezuela
and
c/o Mr. Alfredo De Jesús S.
De Jesús & De Jesús
Edificio Magna Corp, Piso 5
Calle 51 Este y Manuel María Icaza
Bella Vista
City of Panamá
Panamá
and
Torre Banco del Orinoco, Piso 4
Avenida Francisco de Miranda
Caracas 1060
República Bolivariana de Venezuela
and
c/o Dr. Alfredo De Jesús O.
Ms. Marie Thérèse Hervella
Ms. Eloisa Falcón López
Alfredo De Jesús O. – Transnational
Arbitration,
Litigation & Business Law
20, rue Quentin Bauchart
75008 Paris
France
and
c/o Mr. David Syed
Ms. Anna Crevon-Tarassova
Ms. Yun Ma
ConocoPhillips Petrozuata B.V.,
ConocoPhillips Hamaca B.V. and
ConocoPhillips Gulf of Paria B.V.
c/o Ms. Laura M. Robertson
Arbitration Deputy General Counsel
Ms. Suzana M. Blades
Associate General Counsel
Mr. Alberto Ravell
Senior Legal Counsel
Mr. Fernando Avila-Bavaresco
Senior Legal Counsel
ConocoPhillips Company
925 N. Eldridge Pkwy.
Houston, Texas
United States of America
and
c/o Mr. Elliot Friedman
Mr. Sam Prevatt
Mr. Lee Rovinescu
Ms. Madeline Snider
Mr. Cameron Russell
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer US LLP
601 Lexington Avenue, 31st Floor
New York, NY 10022
United States of America
and
c/o Mr. Jan Paulsson
Mr. Luke Sobota
Mr. Mihir Chattopadhyay
Three Crowns LLP
3000 K Street NW, Suite 101
Washington, D.C. 20007-5109
United States of America
and
c/o Mr. Constantine Partasides
Three Crowns LLP
New Fetter Place
8-10 New Fetter Lane
London EC4A 1AZ
United Kingdom
and
c/o D. Brian King
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Dentons Europe CS LLP
V Celnici 1034/6
Prague 1, 110 00
Czech Republic
and
c/o Mr. George Kahale, III
Mr. Benard Preziosi, Jr.
Ms. Arianna Sanchez
Ms. Simon N. Batifort
Mr. Kevin A. Meehan
Ms. Irene Petrelli
Mr. Enrique Urdaneta Cordido-Freytes
Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle
LLP
101 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10178
United States of America
New York University School of Law
40 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012
United States of America
Re: ConocoPhillips Petrozuata B.V., ConocoPhillips Hamaca B.V. and ConocoPhillips Gulf
of Paria B.V. v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
(ICSID Case No. ARB/07/30)
Dear Mesdames and Sirs,
I refer to the Proposal for the Disqualification of the Members of the Annulment
Committee submitted on April 16, 2020 by Dr. Alfredo De Jesús O. on behalf of the Bolivarian
Republic of Venezuela (the “Proposal”).
The Proposal was submitted pursuant to Articles 14 and 57 of the ICSID Convention and
ICSID Arbitration Rule 9. Pursuant to Article 57, a party may propose the disqualification of an
arbitrator on account of any fact indicating a manifest lack of the qualities required by Article
14(1).
Pursuant to Article 58 of the Convention and Arbitration Rule 9, the Chair of the ICSID
Administrative Council shall decide the Proposal.
By communication of June 5, 2020, the Centre informed the parties of my decision to seek
a recommendation on the Proposal from The Rt Hon. Lord Nicholas Phillips, past President of the
Supreme Court of England and Wales. The Centre confirmed that the final decision on the Proposal
would be taken by the Chairman of the ICSID Administrative Council in accordance with Article
58 of the ICSID Convention.
The parties have been given a full opportunity to present their positions on this matter. The
Centre provided Lord Phillips with copies of all the parties’ submissions on the Proposal and the
explanations furnished by the arbitrators.
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The Centre received the recommendation from Lord Phillips on July 10, 2020. A copy of
the recommendation is attached.
I have carefully considered the Proposal, in light of the parties’ written arguments, the
arbitrators’ explanations, and the recommendation from Lord Phillips. Based on these materials, I
have concluded that the Proposal does not meet the standard set forth in Article 57 of the ICSID
Convention for the disqualification of an arbitrator.
Accordingly, the Proposal is hereby rejected.
Yours sincerely,
[signed]
David Malpass
Chairman of the Administrative Council
Attachment
cc:
Judge Dominique Hascher
Professor Diego P. Fernández Arroyo
Mr. Kap-You (Kevin) Kim