Originally from the Journal of Enforcement of Arbitration Awards

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I. INTRODUCTION

The judgment  concerns the annulment of an arbitral award rendered under the Unified Agreement for the Investment of Arab Capital in the Arab States (“Unified Agreement”) in the amount of USD 936,940,000 (“Award”). 

The dispute underlying the Award related to an investment project undertaken by a Kuwaiti company, Mohamed Abdulmohsen Al-Kharafi & Sons Co. (“Al-Kharafi”), for the construction and operation of a tourism complex in Tripoli, Libya. The tourism complex was planned to include facilities such as a five-star hotel, a commercial mall and apartments that were to be built and operated on a 240,000 square meter land owned by the State of Libya.  The total project duration was 90 years, comprising seven years for the construction of the complex and 83 years for its operation. 

The project was approved by the Libyan Ministry of Tourism in 2006, and a lease contract was signed between Al-Kharafi and the Tourism Development Authority for the land.  However, Al-Kharafi faced several problems at the commencement of the project, particularly because the Libyan authorities failed to proceed with a proper handover of the land.