Tribunal in Piero Foresti, Laura De Carli and others v. the Republic of South Africa grants CIEL and human rights organizations access to documents by the parties, October 2009

October 23, 2009

On October 5, 2009, the arbitral tribunal in the Piero Foresti, Laura De Carli and others v. the Republic of South Africa case, pending at the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), granted an NGO coalition the opportunity to file a written submission. The arbitral tribunal issued its decision almost three months after receiving the petition in the pending case. The NGO coalition includes four human rights groups - the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS), the Legal Resources Centre (LRC), the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), and INTERIGHTS (the International Centre for the Legal Protection of Human Rights).

Also, for the first time ever, an ICSID tribunal ordered the parties in the arbitration to disclose their key legal filings to a set of public interest organizations, despite the strong objections of the claimants. The Tribunal's decision is thus a major step towards transparency in investor-State arbitrations. This decision means that the NGO coalition will have an opportunity to access the documents filed by the parties in order to prepare a written submission to the tribunal concerning key public interest issues in the case.

For more information regarding the Piero Foresti case and the ICSID tribunal's decision, please read the press release.

CIEL has long advocated for more transparent mechanisms for dispute settlement generally, including access to information in ICSID proceedings.

For more information, please contact Marcos Orellana.