On January 17, 2003, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (“ICSID or “the Centre”) received a Request for Arbitration against the Argentine Republic (hereinafter “the Respondent” or “Argentina”) from Continental Casualty Company (hereinafter “the Claimant” or “Continental”), a company incorporated under the law of the State of Illinois, United States of America. The Request concerned Continental's investment in CNA Aseguradora de Riesgos del Trabajo S.A. (“CNA ART”), an insurance company incorporated in Argentina, which Continental claims to wholly own, and Argentina's alleged breaches of Continental's rights as investor under the 1991 Treaty between the United States of America and the Argentine Republic concerning the Reciprocal Encouragement and Protection of Investment (the “Argentina-U.S. Bilateral Investment Treaty” or the “BIT”).