UGHI AND NUNZIANTE WITH KING & SPALDING ALONGSIDE ROCKHOPPER IN ICSID ARBITRATION AGAINST ITALIAN STATE AFTER BLOCKING OMBRINA MARE PROJECT

Ughi e Nunziante assisted, for the Italian law profiles, the law firm King & Spalding LLP in the international arbitration brought against the Italian State by the British company Rockhopper Exploration Plc, listed on the London Stock Exchange (AIM), and its subsidiaries Rockhopper Mediterranean Ltd and Rockhopper Italia S.p.A.

The arbitration, which began in April 2017 and was conducted at the International Center for the Settlement of the Investment Disputes (ICSID), ended with the Arbitral Tribunal (composed of Klaus Reichert – Chairman, Charles Poncet, and Prof. Pierre-Marie Dupuy) fully accepting the Claimants’ claims. Specifically, the Tribunal found that the Italian State had violated the international Energy Charter Treaty regarding the protection of foreign investments and ordered it to pay total compensation of 190 million euros plus interest. The damages claimed by the plaintiffs included the costs they incurred in connection with the offshore hydrocarbon production project in the Adriatic Sea off the coast of Abruzzo (known as “Ombrina Mare”) and the lost profits resulting from the cancellation of the project.

King & Spalding professionals representing the plaintiff companies were partners Thomas K. Sprange and Benjamin (Ben) Williams, with associates Flora Jones and Kateryna Frolova from the London office, and partner Viren Mascarenhas from the New York office.

Ughi and Nunziante’s team consisted of managing partner Roberto Leccese, together with partner Luigi Cascone, for international procedural profiles, and partner Andrea Marega and senior associate Giorgia Diotallevi, for administrative law aspects.

The full press review is available here.