1. The Tribunal recalls from the record that there are pending proceedings between the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Public Transportation Regulatory Commission (a Jordanian entity) on the one hand and International Company for Railway Systems on the other hand at the Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce, which concern the same facts and circumstances in the dispute here (the “ICC Proceedings”). 

2. On October 6, 2010 the Respondent, inter alia, notified the Tribunal of the Claimant’s communications to the ICC Secretariat of its intention to withdraw jurisdictional objections and to submit a counter-claim in the ICC proceedings. Therefore, the Respondent requested that the Tribunal set “a prompt deadline to confirm that, in light of its recent communications to the ICC, Claimant will agree to seek the immediate discontinuance of the present ICSID proceedings with prejudice.” 

3. In response to a letter from the Tribunal on October 14, 2010, on October 21, 2010 the Claimant submitted its comments on the Respondent’s October 6, 2010 letter. The Claimant said, inter alia, that its communications to the ICC “are not to the effect that the Claimant has accepted the jurisdiction of ICC under the IA.” The Claimant further stated, “Claimant, without conceding that ICSID is the tribunal of first resort, has in the interest of an expeditious resolution of the dispute and not having to be put through the financial strain of pursuing two arbitrations in the very same matter, for the time being abstained from pursuing its remedy before ICSID, as set out in the IA. The same cannot be seen to be an agreement by the Claimant that ICSID does not have jurisdiction under the IA but merely suspension of the proceedings of ICSID in favour of the ICC arbitration.”