Confectionary producer Swisslion DOO Skopje had launched a claim for more than €21 million in damages, alleging that Macedonia had violated a bilateral investment treaty (BIT).However a tribunal brought under the Rules of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) rejected almost all the claims, with Macedonia only paying Swisslion €350,000 for what the tribunal describes as ‘minor breach’.

Complex case

The team at the Los Angeles-based law firm was led by partner Sebastian Seelmann-Eggebert, from Latham’s Hamburg office and global chairman of the firm’s international arbitration practice group, and associate Charles Claypoole from London. Also in the team were Angela Angelovska-Wilson, Hussein Haeri and Catriona Paterson.
Mr Seelmann-Eggebert said: ‘This was a complex and hard-fought case in which the tribunal imposed very high standards on the Republic of Macedonia, as evidenced by the tribunal's finding of a "minor breach" for a "composite act".’