ICSID—Papua New Guinea's preliminary objections dismissed (PNG Sustainable Development v Papua New Guinea)

Table of contents

• Practical implications
• Background
• Summary of the decision
• Meaning of 'manifestly without legal merit'
• Tribunal and decision details

Article summary

Arbitration analysis: in a decision dated 28 October 2014, the tribunal in the ICSID arbitration proceeding between PNG Sustainable Development (PNGSD) and Papua New Guinea (PNG) dismissed the respondent State’s preliminary objections under rule 41(5) of the ICSID Arbitration Rules, ie its contention that the claimant’s claim was ‘manifestly without legal merit’. In this article, we discuss the tribunal’s decision and highlight its discussion of the meaning of the phrase ‘manifestly without legal merit’.