The International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in Washington still haven’t decided whether it is competent to rule on the arbitration against Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and coalmine and thermal power plant (RiTE) Ugljevik, operated by power utility ERS, filed by Slovenian company Elektrogospodarstvo.
Initially, ICSID was supposed to adopt the decision on its competence by the end of 2018, but its was postponed by the end of first quarter of 2019. However, the Center is silent since then and has not informed RiTE Ugljevik regarding any progress in the arbitration case.
In 2014, Slovenian company Elektrogospodarstvo has submitted a lawsuit against BiH at International Center for Settlement of Disputes (ICSID) in Washington, claiming the amount of 750 million euros. If BiH loses this dispute, with all interest it will be obliged to pay almost 1.5 billion euros. The arbitration proceedings started in late 2015. During the construction of TPP Ugljevik in 1981, Bosnia and Herzegovina invested two-thirds of the necessary funds, while Slovenia invested the remaining funds. When TPP became operational in 1985, Slovenians required regular deliveries of produced electricity in accordance with the funds they invested in the construction. The civil war in former Yugoslavia interrupted this deal and deliveries have been stopped since then. The lawsuit was filed by the company Elektrogospodarstvo which has no employees according to Slovenian business directory, but it has an open support of the Government of Slovenia for the case against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
