Debevoise & Plimpton LLP has secured a complete victory for the Republic of Iraq in an ICSID arbitration brought by Orange S.A. under the France-Iraq bilateral investment treaty. In a unanimous award, the tribunal dismissed all claims—which exceeded $950 million—and ordered Orange to pay 90% of Iraq’s legal fees and the full costs of the arbitration.

The award decisively resolves the first known arbitration brought under the treaty and represents one of the largest disputes to be dismissed on jurisdictional grounds in recent years. The dispute concerned a regulatory measure adopted in 2014, prior to the treaty's entry into force in 2016. Iraq argued that the dispute had arisen before the treaty became effective and therefore fell outside the tribunal's temporal jurisdiction under the treaty. The tribunal agreed with the Republic’s position, rejected Orange's alternative jurisdictional theories, and awarded the Republic legal fees.

The Debevoise team was led by partners Catherine Amirfar and Ina Popova and included counsel Carl Micarelli and associates Sarah Lee, Janine Godbehere, Federico Wynter and Elizabeth White.