India liable under BIT for extensive judicial delays

An UNCITRAL tribunal in Singapore has held that the Republic of India breached its obligation under the India-Kuwait bilateral investment treaty (“BIT“) to provide investors with an “effective means of asserting claims and enforcing rights” through undue delay in the Indian court system.  White Industries Australia Limited (“White“) had spent nine years attempting to enforce an ICC Award in India, but was subjected to prolonged delays.  It therefore brought a claim under the Australian–Indian BIT but successfully relied on the BIT’s “most-favoured nation” clause to take advantage of the more favourable investor protections in the India-Kuwait BIT.  Please click here to read our post on our Arbitration blog.