The Effect of the Consortium Agreements on the Competence of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID): Analytical Study of the Saudi Foreign Investment System and the Washington Agreement of 1965

Abstract

This study determines the extent of the impact of the consortium agreements between commercial companies on the jurisdiction of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). For the settlement of foreign investment disputes, if the issue arises from the same dispute between foreign investors from several countries, who are linked to each other by a nodal group on the one hand, and with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as the host country for investment on the other hand. This study has shown that in some cases, consortium agreements have an indirect role in the emergence of several simultaneous judicial or arbitration procedures for the procedures of the center for settling foreign investment disputes in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, considering that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a member of the Washington Agreement of 1965. In this study, we rely on the comparative analytical approach by studying the special nature of the consortium agreements that arise from the alliance of several companies or projects from different countries. These parties bring together an independent legal entity with an independent legal personality to explain that the consortium is considered one of the indirect reasons for the emergence of Simultaneous arbitration procedures for the ICSID. We also rely on the comparative approach between the Saudi Foreign Investment Law of 2000 and the Washington Agreement of 1965 to determine the extent of the impact of these agreements on attracting foreign investors in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Additionally, we try to identify the legal means to prevent the occurrence of this phenomenon or control it if it occurs.

Received: 16 November 2022 / Accepted: 27 December 2022 / Published: 5 January 2023