Staur Eiendom AS and others v Latvia

Abstract

In an Award dated 28 February 2020, the Tribunal in Staur v Latvia found that the conduct of SJSC International Airport Riga (‘SJSC Airport’), the Latvian State-owned operator of the Riga International Airport (‘Airport’), in relation to a project for the development of the Airport was not attributable to Latvia under the rules of attribution of the International Law Commission’s Draft Articles on the Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts (‘ILC Articles’). While, as the Tribunal itself acknowledged,3 the case did not present novel issues, it expounded on the application of the ILC Articles’ main rules of attribution to the conduct of State-owned enterprises (SOEs). The decision is notable for recounting specific factors that are insufficient to treat a State enterprise as a de facto organ of the State or to consider its acts as acts of governmental authority. The Tribunal also considered Flemingo v Poland,4...