Republic of Hungary appoints bnt as defence counsel in investment arbitration with French energy company EDF
EDF alleges that Hungary has breached investor protections contained in the Energy Charter Treaty and takes issue with a ruling by the European Commission which declared that long-term power purchase agreements concluded between a Hungarian state-owned company and various Hungary-based electricity producers amount to illegal "state aid" under EU rules. The claim will be adjudicated by an arbitral tribunal established under the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules, one of the options for dispute settlement available to foreign investors under the Energy Charter Treaty, a multilateral treaty ratified by 47 states and the European Union aimed at promoting long-term cooperation in the energy field.
bnt and Mannheimer Swartling were selected as counsel to represent the Republic of Hungary after participating in a public tender. Mannheimer Swartling's team handling the instruction, led by Kaj Hobér, Jakob Ragnwaldh, and Mattias Göransson, and bnt's team, led by Levente Szabó and Jan Burmeister, thus combine their extensive experience in international arbitration, including investment treaty disputes and matters related to the Energy Charter Treaty.