On March 26, 2007, CIEL and partner NGOs filed an amicus curiae brief in the Biwater-Tanzania case.

 

This investment dispute before an ICSID Tribunal is at the heart of the controversy between the Tanzanian Government and a foreign investor concerning the provision of water services in Dar es Salaam from 2003 until 2005. The Tanzanian government announced in May 2005 that it had terminated its contract with City Water because the company had failed in its promise to provide clean drinking water to millions of people in Dar es Salaam. Biwater, the UK-based investor, is now demanding compensation under the UK-Tanzania Bilateral Investment Treaty.

The brief puts forward arguments as to the responsibilities of foreign investors under international investment agreements, particularly where investments implicate sensitive human rights or sustainable development objectives

The submission was filed by the Lawyers' Environmental Action Team (LEAT), the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC), the Tanzania Gender Networking Programme (TGNP), the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). It was opposed by the British water company Biwater, but was supported by the Tanzanian government.

On Feb 2, 2007, the arbitral tribunal granted CIEL and its partners the opportunity to file a written amicus curiae submission. The arbitral tribunal issued its decision two months after receiving the petition for amicus status in the pending Biwater v. Tanzania case.

For more information, please contact:

Center For International Environmental Law (CIEL)
Marcos Orellana, +1-202-785-8700, morellana@ciel.org

International Institute for Sustainable (IISD)
Howard Mann, +1-613-729-0621, h.mann@sympatico.ca

Lawyers Environmental Action Team (LEAT)
Tundu Lissu, +255-22-2780859/2781098, tundulissu@leattz.org

Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC)
Helen Kijo-Bisimba, +255-22 2773038, 277 3048, lhrc@humanrights.or.tz

Tanzania Gender Networking Programme (TGNP)
Mary Janeth Rusimbi, +255-22-2443205, 2443450, 2443286, deus.kibamba@tgnp.org