Zeph Investments v Commonwealth of Australia

COURT OR TRIBUNAL

International Arbitration Proceedings

DATE FILED (OR FIRST HEARING DATE)

14/09/2020

LITIGATION TYPE

Project Approval - Mitigation

SUBJECT MATTER

Gas / Oil

REVIEW TYPE

N/A

SUMMARY

Zeph Investment (Clive Palmer’s Singapore-based company) is suing the Commonwealth of Australia for $296 billion for breaches of the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area agreement (an investor-state dispute). The applicant is arguing that the West Australian government breached the agreement by introducing legislation in 2020 to retrospectively remove Mr Palmer's ability to seek compensation from the state regarding the Balmoral South Iron Ore Project in the Pilbara. This follows unsuccessful attempts by Mr Palmer to challenge the validity of the legislation in the Federal Court and High Court of Australia. The company has filed an additional Notice of Intention to commence arbitration under the Singapore–Australia Free Trade Agreement.

CASE DOCUMENTS

Palmer v. The State of Western Australia [2021] HCA 31
Article about the investor-state dispute
Notice of Intention