Sanum Investments Limited v The Government of the Lao People's Democratic Republic: PCA Case No. 2013-13, UNCITRAL Arbitration, Award on Jurisdiction, 13 December 2013 (Andres Rigo Sureda, Bernard Hanotiau, Brigitte Stern)

摘要

Sanum Investments Limited (the Claimant or Sanum) - a company incorporated in Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) - relied on the 1993 People's Republic of China (PRC or China)-Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR) bilateral investment treaty (the PRC-Laos BIT) to argue that its investments in Lao in the gambling and hospitality sector through a joint venture with a Laotian company were negatively affected by measures of the Laos government (the Respondent or Laos) which conducted itself in a way as to breach multiple obligations under the PRC-Laos BIT. The UNCITRAL tribunal (the Tribunal) in Sanum Investments v Lao PDR (Sanum) issued its Award on Jurisdiction (the Award) on 13 December 2013, finding that it had jurisdiction since, in application of the moving treaty frontiers principle, the PRC-Laos BIT applied also to Macao after its handover from Portugal to PRC in 1999. The Award was set aside by a judgment of the High Court of the Republic of Singapore (SGHC) on 20 January 2015. This case illustrates the application of general rules of State succession in respect to investment treaties in the specific context of Macao. The Sanum case, as discussed here, refers to the Award of the Tribunal and to the set aside proceedings before the SGHC.