Successfully represented Lithuania in the court of arbitration against Russia’s Fund regarding nationalized bank SNORAS

Ellex in Lithuania has achieved immense success in representing Lithuania in an international investment arbitration case against the Russia’s Fund on the nationalized Lithuanian bank SNORAS matter.

Fund for Protection of Investors‘ Rights in the Foreign States claimed against the state under Lithuania-Russia bilateral investment treaty in relation to taking into public ownership of shares of Mr. Vladimir Antonov in bank SNORAS in 2011. The Fund was an alleged assignee of Mr. Antonov’s rights.

The arbitral tribunal declined jurisdiction over the claims of the Fund, which was an investor under the treaty. The arbitral tribunal also awarded all arbitration costs incurred by the state in the proceeding. But the pathway to success was laid from the very beginning. All the state’s costs were already compensated because the arbitral tribunal had earlier ordered the Fund to post security for the state’s costs in this arbitration.

Success in the jurisdictional stage of the proceeding and total compensation of the state’s costs in the proceeding is an extraordinary victory. The state was represented by a joint team of lawyers from Ellex and DLA Piper law firms. Ellex team: partners Vilija Vaitkutė Pavan, Giedrius Stasevičius, Giedrė Aukštuolienė, associate partner Rapolas Kasparavičius, senior associate Agnė Kisieliauskaitė and associate Ieva Mikučiauskaitė and junior associate Saulius Bareika.