LONDON (Reuters) – Spain on Tuesday lost an appeal in its bid to claim immunity in a London court in a multi-million euro case over cuts to renewable energy incentives.
Two investors, Infrastructure Services Luxembourg and Energia Termosolar, took Spain to arbitration under the Energy Charter Treaty 10 years ago for withdrawing subsidies for renewable energy.
The World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) awarded Infrastructure Services Luxembourg and Energia Termosolar 101 million euros ($109.2 million).
The investors’ award was later registered at London’s High Court, which last year refused Spain’s attempt to overturn the award on the grounds it had sovereign immunity.
Spain challenged that decision at the Court of Appeal, which on Tuesday dimissed the appeal.
Judge Stephen Phillips said in a written ruling that states who have signed up to the ICSID convention “may not oppose the registration of ICSID awards against them on the grounds of state immunity”.
(Reporting by Sam Tobin; editing by Sarah Young)
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