Chevron & Texaco v Ecuador – Denial of Justice Reaffirmed

The UNCITRAL tribunal in Chevron v Ecuador has released its first partial award on the merits, holding in favour of the oil company. This is the first part of a multi-stage arbitration that disposes of claims for US$ 700 million, with claims in total amounting to US$ 27 billion to be eventually decided by the tribunal.

Chevron claimed that they had been manifestly denied justice by the Ecuadorian courts, in violation of the ‘access to justice’ provision of Art II(7) of the USA – Ecuador BIT.