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Metalclad v Mexico (ICSID)

Why it matters

Metalclad Corporation v. United Mexican States, an investment-treaty arbitration administered by ICSID (case no. ARB(AF)/97/1), in which a foreign investor brought claims against a state under an investment treaty. In the outcome, Award rendered on August 30, 2000. For a student, it is a worked example of investor-state dispute settlement: how an ICSID tribunal weighs a state's right to regulate against the treaty protections owed to foreign investors.

Summary

Metalclad Corporation v. United Mexican States: an ICSID award (ARB(AF)/97/1). In the outcome, Award rendered on August 30, 2000. The tribunal's full reasoning is set out in the original.

The detail

Parties: Metalclad Corporation v. United Mexican States

Case number: ICSID Case No. ARB(AF)/97/1

Outcome: Mexico liable for indirect expropriation and unfair treatment; around US$16.7m awarded, later trimmed on review.

Quantum: US$16.7m (reduced after court review in British Columbia)

Applicable law: NAFTA Chapter 11 (Articles 1105 fair and equitable treatment, 1110 expropriation); ICSID Additional Facility Rules.

Issues in play: Federal assurances against local municipal refusals: can a town's permit refusal, after the central government said yes, amount to the state taking your investment?

Read the full decision at italaw ↗

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