Emmerson Arbitration: Tribunal Rejects Morocco’s Procedural Request

The British mining group Emmerson announced on Monday, July 20, that the arbitral tribunal constituted under the auspices of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) had rejected Morocco’s procedural request in the ongoing arbitration over the Khemisset potash project.

In May, the Kingdom had sought to bifurcate the proceedings, requesting that certain jurisdictional objections be examined in a preliminary phase before the tribunal examined the merits of the case.

Following a hearing on June 19, the tribunal dismissed the request in a decision issued on July 17. Morocco’s objections will therefore be examined concurrently with the substance of the case.

Emmerson notes that the timetable for the continuation of the proceedings, including the date of the hearing on jurisdiction and the merits, has not yet been set.

As a reminder, the subsidiaries Khemisset UK Ltd and Potasse de Khemisset SA are seeking $1.215 billion in damages from Morocco for alleged violations of the bilateral investment treaty between the United Kingdom and Morocco, including alleged expropriation and breach of fair and equitable treatment.