“Chevron Corporation, the U.S. oil company being tried in Ecuadorian courts for environmental damages estimated at $26 billion, has gone on the attack by filing an international arbitration claim before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.”
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“The company’s press release emphasized that Chevron is not alone in highlighting “the demise” of Ecuador’s judiciary. It quoted from a recent State Department report: “Systemic weakness and susceptibility to political or economic pressures in the rule of law constitute the most important problem faced by U.S. companies investing in or trading with Ecuador.”
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“The California-based firm said it had filed a claim against Ecuador “citing violations of the country’s obligations under the United States-Ecuador Bilateral Investment Treaty, investment agreements, and international law.
“The complaint stems from the government of Ecuador’s exploitation of the going lawsuit against Chevron in Ecuador, as well as the government’s failure to uphold its duties under decade-old contracts.””
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“Chevron, which hasn’t drilled a well in Ecuador since 1992, wants arbitrators to require the government to comply with agreements signed from 1994 to 1998 absolving the company from any environmental liabilities. Chevron also asked to be compensated for damage to its reputation caused by Ecuador’s “outrageous and illegal conduct,” as well as legal fees.”
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“Chevron, which has in the past exposed some fraudulent claims by people who claimed they had cancer when they didn’t, has also presented evidence of bias and corruption by a judge overseeing the case in Ecuador. But it hasn’t ever succeeded in having all the claims against it thrown out.
Now Chevron says the government of Ecuador is “exploiting the ongoing lawsuit against Chevron” and that it hasn’t complied with contracts it signed with Texaco in the past relating to such legal claims.”
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“Chevron has been aggressively defending itself against the lawsuit, in which plaintiffs are seeking $27bn in damages. The company demanded the removal of the judge, Juan Núñez, after releasing videos it claimed contained evidence of political interference and corruption in the country.”
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“When, say, a big U.S.-based oil company gets sued a small country or its residents, it typically sticks to a tightly choreographed script. It plays an aggressive defense, sure, one handled by fancy BigLaw lawyers, but it otherwise takes a “move along, nothing to see here” approach, punctuated by clipped and rote statements to the press.
But this isn’t Chevron’s approach, at least not in regard to a long-running situation in Educador. The oil giant has gone on the offensive, recently suing Ecuador’s government under international trade law.”
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“US supermajor Chevron, which is fighting a $27 billion environmental lawsuit in Ecuador, said it has filed an international arbitration claim against the Quito government.
Chevron’s claim, related to the pending lawsuit against the company, cites violations of a treaty between the US and Ecuador, investment agreements and international law, it said in a statement.”
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