Matter
The Republic of Kazakhstan v World Wide Minerals Ltd and others (High Court of Justice CL-2024-000236)
Investor-state arbitration over Kazakhstan's treatment of a uranium investment, with awards on treaty breaches and loss and English court challenges to awards.
Procedural record
- 19 October 2015United Kingdom
19 October 2015United Kingdom
Partial Award on Jurisdiction dated 19 October 2015
- Decision summary
- The Full Tribunal upheld jurisdiction under the Canada-USSR investment treaty, rejecting Kazakhstan's objection that Russia rather than Kazakhstan was the successor party to the treaty.
Participants
Republic of Kazakhstan
World Wide Minerals Ltd
Paul A Carroll QC
Institution
- Arbitrator
- Sir Franklin Berman
- Arbitrator
- Professor John Crook
- Arbitrator
- Professor Park
4 years and 10 days later · 1471 days
- 29 October 2019United Kingdom
29 October 2019United Kingdom
Final Award on Merits dated 29 October 2019
- Decision summary
- The Full Tribunal rejected all but two of the alleged treaty breaches, found Kazakhstan's termination of the Management Agreement lawful under the Treaty, found an export license breach and a bankruptcy breach, and awarded the World Wide Minerals parties compensation of US$13.7 million on a damages basis not argued by the parties.
Participants
Republic of Kazakhstan
World Wide Minerals Ltd
Paul A Carroll QC
Institution
- Arbitrator
- Sir Franklin Berman
- Arbitrator
- Professor John Crook
- Arbitrator
- Professor Park
4 years, 4 months and 26 days later · 1610 days
- 26 March 2024United Kingdom
26 March 2024United Kingdom
Award dated 26 March 2024
- Decision summary
- The Tribunal found that Kazakhstan's export license breach was a decisive factor, together with others, in the eventual demise of World Wide Minerals' investment; awarded World Wide Minerals sunk costs of US$13.7 million; held the bankruptcy-breach claims moot; and rejected all other claims.
Participants
- Expert evidence of Dr Newall
- Dr Newall addressed the cost of processing the ore and whether sufficient quantities could be processed to fulfil the Consumers Energy contract.
Republic of Kazakhstan
- Expert
- PwC (For: Republic of Kazakhstan)
- Expert
- Wardell Armstrong (For: Republic of Kazakhstan)
World Wide Minerals Ltd
- Expert
- Accuracy (For: World Wide Minerals Ltd · Paul A Carroll QC)
- Expert
- Uranium Experts (For: World Wide Minerals Ltd · Paul A Carroll QC)
Paul A Carroll QC
- Expert
- Accuracy (For: World Wide Minerals Ltd · Paul A Carroll QC)
- Expert
- Uranium Experts (For: World Wide Minerals Ltd · Paul A Carroll QC)
Institution
- Arbitrator
- Sir Franklin Berman
- Arbitrator
- Professor John Crook
11 months and 2 days later · 339 days
- 28 February 2025United Kingdom
28 February 2025United Kingdom
Judgment of the High Court of Justice, Business and Property Courts of England and Wales, Commercial Court (KBD) in case CL-2024-000236 dated 28 February 2025
High Court of Justice, Business and Property Courts of England and Wales, Commercial Court (KBD)
- Citation
- [2025] EWHC 452 (Comm)
- Decision summary
- The court upheld Kazakhstan's challenge under section 68(2)(d) of the Arbitration Act 1996: the Tribunal failed to address the central counterfactual case that World Wide Minerals' investment would have been lost through lawful termination of the Management Agreement even without the export license breach, causing substantial injustice. It rejected the objection under section 70(2), holding that Article 35 of the 1976 UNCITRAL Rules did not require an interpretation request where an issue had been omitted rather than ambiguously decided, and reserved the appropriate consequential relief.
Participants
Republic of Kazakhstan
- Representative
- Christopher Harris KC (For: Republic of Kazakhstan)
- Representative
- Paul Choon Kiat Wee (For: Republic of Kazakhstan)
- Representative
- Reed Smith LLP (For: Republic of Kazakhstan)
World Wide Minerals Ltd
- Representative
- Philip Edey KC (For: World Wide Minerals Ltd · The estate of Paul A Carroll QC · Catharine Carroll)
- Representative
- Edward Ho (For: World Wide Minerals Ltd · The estate of Paul A Carroll QC · Catharine Carroll)
- Representative
- Jones Day (For: World Wide Minerals Ltd · The estate of Paul A Carroll QC · Catharine Carroll)
The estate of Paul A Carroll QC
- Representative
- Philip Edey KC (For: World Wide Minerals Ltd · The estate of Paul A Carroll QC · Catharine Carroll)
- Representative
- Edward Ho (For: World Wide Minerals Ltd · The estate of Paul A Carroll QC · Catharine Carroll)
- Representative
- Jones Day (For: World Wide Minerals Ltd · The estate of Paul A Carroll QC · Catharine Carroll)
Catharine Carroll
- Representative
- Philip Edey KC (For: World Wide Minerals Ltd · The estate of Paul A Carroll QC · Catharine Carroll)
- Representative
- Edward Ho (For: World Wide Minerals Ltd · The estate of Paul A Carroll QC · Catharine Carroll)
- Representative
- Jones Day (For: World Wide Minerals Ltd · The estate of Paul A Carroll QC · Catharine Carroll)
High Court of Justice, Business and Property Courts of England and Wales, Commercial Court (KBD)
- Judge
- Mr Justice Bryan
- Date not availableUnited Kingdom
Date not availableUnited Kingdom
Decision of the Court of Appeal on permission to appeal the jurisdiction challenge
Court of Appeal of England and Wales
- Decision summary
- The Court of Appeal refused permission to appeal after Kazakhstan's attempt to challenge the 19 October 2015 jurisdiction award out of time under section 67 of the Arbitration Act 1996 failed at first instance.
Participants
Republic of Kazakhstan
Court of Appeal of England and Wales
- Date not availableUnited Kingdom
Date not availableUnited Kingdom
Judgment of the Commercial Court in The Republic of Kazakhstan v World Wide Minerals Limited [2020] EWHC 3068 (Comm)
High Court of Justice, Commercial Court
- Citation
- [2020] EWHC 3068 (Comm)
- Decision summary
- The court upheld Kazakhstan's challenge under section 68(2)(a) of the Arbitration Act 1996 because the Full Tribunal awarded sunk-cost damages on a basis not argued by the parties, denying Kazakhstan an opportunity to address causation and loss and causing substantial injustice. It set aside the relevant damages and costs paragraphs of the 2019 award and remitted causation, quantification and costs to the Full Tribunal.
Participants
Republic of Kazakhstan
World Wide Minerals Ltd
Paul A Carroll QC
High Court of Justice, Commercial Court
- Judge
- His Honour Judge Pelling QC