BRIF TRES and its subsidiary BRIF T-C have filed a lawsuit against Serbia worth 300 million euros before the International Center for Investment Dispute Resolution over a dispute which slowed down the construction of a shopping center in Belgrade, their law firm Stankovic said.
As it is pointed out, the dispute concerns a long-term lease agreement signed by BRIF T-C with the Government of Serbia in 2004 following a tender procedure – under which investors pledged to build a modern shopping complex on the site of the earlier Danube landfill. Under the terms of the lease, BRIF T-C would operate the mall when it was built.
BRIF companies claim that they have invested significant funds in the preparatory work required at the site, but their investments have been stripped due to a series of actions and omissions by the competent authorities in Serbia.
– Namely, a third party filed a competitive claim in 2007 regarding one parcel of land on which the landscaping companies operated in accordance with the terms of the lease. This led to a series of administrative proceedings and ultimately to legal proceedings regarding the legality of the initial tender procedure. The court case is still pending – their representatives said.
At the same time, they said, the real estate cadastre in Serbia refused to register the land lease rights of BRIF companies – preventing them from securing the necessary financing to continue the project.
– The dispute notification was submitted in July 2019 in accordance with the Bilateral Investment Agreement signed by Serbia with the Economic Union of Belgium and Luxembourg, but the parties failed to reach a peaceful settlement of the dispute.
BRIF companies claim their claims amount to approximately 300 million euros – they say from the Stankovic Law Office, adding that on April 27, the International Center for Investment Dispute Resolution registered a lawsuit filed by BRIF TRES and its subsidiary BRIF T-C.
Although both BRIF legal entities are registered in Belgrade, the lawsuit was allegedly filed in accordance with the Bilateral Investment Agreement signed by Serbia with the Economic Union of Belgium and Luxembourg.
– According to the publication Global Arbitration Review, BRIF companies rely on this agreement since their parent company is based in Luxembourg – say MPs.
BRIF TRES is represented by attorneys from four companies: White & Case in Paris, Luxembourg-based CAS, the Paris-based law firm Arbitration and Arbitration Office, and lawyers from the Stankovic offices in Belgrade.
Serbia has three disputes before the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes. More details about one of these were recently released – a lawsuit worth 67 million euros filed by Canadian investors over allegedly expropriating a dairy farm – after the International Center for Investment Disputes Center released several documents in this case in February, Nova Ekonomija reports.
