Appendices - Investment Arbitration and the Energy Charter Treaty
Clarisse Ribeiro, Counsel, Energy Charter Secretariat, Brussels
Clarisse Ribeiro joined the Energy Charter Secretariat in 2002 and is Legal Counsel in the Legal Affairs unit. Among her responsibilities, Ms. Ribeiro is actively involved in the Legal Advisory Task Force, mandated by the Energy Charter Conference to prepare model agreements for the construction of cross-border pipelines, and is responsible for contacts with the Legal Department of the Portuguese Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Depository of the Energy Charter Treaty. Prior to joining the Energy Charter Secretariat, Ms. Ribeiro worked as an Official for the Secretariat Division of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt am Main.
Before taking a post-graduate diploma (DESS) in public international law at the University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, which she passed with first class honours in 2000, Ms Ribeiro graduated with honours from the University of Paris II Panthéon-Assas.
Originally from Investment Arbitration and the Energy Charter Treaty
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THE ARBITRATION INSTITUTE OF THE STOCKHOLM CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ARBITRAL AWARD
Rendered in Stockholm, Sweden on 16 December 2003
1. Introduction
1.1 Overview
Nykomb Synergetics Technology Holding AB (“Nykomb”) is a joint stock company organized in 1995 under the laws of Sweden.
SIA Windau (“Windau”) is a joint stock company organized in 1991 under the laws of Latvia. Windau was originally 100 per cent owned and controlled by Latvian citizens, but Nykomb acquired 51 per cent of the share capital in March 1999 and 49 per cent in September 2000, making Windau a 100 per cent owned subsidiary of Nykomb.
The State Joint-Stock Company Latvenergo (“Latvenergo”) was organized as a state enterprise under Latvian law in 1991, and was in 1993 transformed into a joint stock company under Latvian law. The Republic of Latvia (the “Republic”) owns 100 per cent of the shares in Latvenergo. By an amendment of 3 August 2000 to the Latvian Energy Law the company is defined as “a national economy object of the State economy” that shall not be privatized. The company is actively involved in the production, purchase and distribution of electric power in Latvia.
On 24 March 1997 Latvenergo and Windau entered into an agreement called Contract No. 16/97 (the “Contract” or “Contract No. 16/97”) whereby Windau undertook to build a so called cogeneration plant in the town of Bauska, which was to produce electric power and heat on the basis of natural gas, the electric power to be purchased by Latvenergo and distributed over the national grid, and the heat to be purchased and distributed by the Bauska municipality. The plant was built and was ready to start production on 17 September 1999, but did not start until 28 February 2000 due to a dispute over the purchase price to be paid by Latvenergo. Since 28 February 2000 the Bauska plant has been delivering electric power to Latvenergo according to an interim or settlement agreement of 10 March 2000, at a price which in the Claimant’s view is less than Windau is entitled to under the Contract. The price dispute will be further explored below, but in short the delivery price stipulated in the purchase contracts entered into by Latvenergo is composed of two elements, the general tariff for average sales prices per kWh set by regulatory authorities and a multiplier set by Latvian laws or regulations. The Claimant contends that Windau was ensured for the first eight years of operation a multiplier of two (the “double tariff”), while Latvenergo considers the correct multiplier to be 0.75 of the tariff.