The Republic of Panama has won the international investment arbitration claim filed by Sacyr, S.A. under the Arbitration Rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL).
In 2018, the company Sacyr, S.A., which was part of the Unidos por el Canal Consortium (GUPC) for the construction of the Third Set of Locks, a project managed by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP), filed an investment arbitration based on the Agreement for the Reciprocal Promotion and Protection of Investments signed between the Kingdom of Spain and the Republic of Panama (the Treaty), for the amount of two billion three hundred sixty-two million seven hundred thirty thousand US dollars (US$2,362,730,000.00).
The Tribunal found that Sacyr failed to prove its claims and that none of the actions of the ACP that were the subject of the complainant's complaint can be attributed to Panama as acts performed in the exercise of its sovereign power.
The Tribunal also highlighted that if it had not dismissed the claims for lack of merit, it would have concluded that they are inadmissible, as their basis is the Contract and not the Treaty.
The ruling orders Sacyr to pay the Republic of Panama the amount of US$6,391,831.66 as arbitration costs (including legal fees and process expenses).
Sacyr alleged that the actions of the ACP during the bidding and execution of the project had violated the Treaty.
