Arnold & Porter secured another investment arbitration
victory for its client the Dominican Republic, obtaining a
dismissal of all claims on jurisdictional grounds in an arbitral
award issued September 3, 2019. This victory notably represents
Arnold & Porter's 34th consecutive positive result on
behalf of sovereign States in investment
arbitrations.
The arbitration was filed by dual US-Dominican nationals, Michael
and Lisa Ballantine, under the Dominican Republic-Central America
Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA), to which the United States is a
party. The Ballantines alleged that the Dominican Republic had
violated DR-CAFTA by declining to grant them environmental permits
for a real estate project in the Dominican mountains. In what
appears to be an unprecedented ruling, the arbitral tribunal
declined jurisdiction on the basis that at the relevant times the
"dominant and effective" nationality of the Ballantines
had been that of the Dominican Republic. Under the
longstanding principle of international law that individuals cannot
file international claims against their own State, the Ballantines
were barred from pursuing treaty claims against the Dominican
Republic.
The Arnold & Porter team included partners Paolo Di
Rosa, Raul Herrera and Mallory Silberman, and
associate Claudia Taveras. The same team also obtained
full dismissal of all claims against the Dominican Republic in an
earlier DR-CAFTA case, Corona v. Dominican
Republic.
PRESS RELEASE
6 September 2019
Arnold & Porter’s International Arbitration Team Notches 34th Consecutive Favorable Result With Win For Dominican Republic
Arnold & Porter secured another investment arbitration victory for its client the Dominican Republic, obtaining a dismissal of all claims on jurisdictional grounds in an arbitral award issued September 3, 2019