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33 J. Int'l Arb. 687 (2016)
Greek Debt Restructuring and Investment Treaty Arbitration: Jurisdictional Stumbling Blocks for Bondholders

handle is hein.kluwer/jia0033 and id is 863 raw text is: Greek Debt Restructuring and Investment Treaty Arbitration: Jurisdictional Stumbling Blocks for Bondholders Anna 0. MITsou The recent award of an International Centerfor the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) tribunal in Poitovi banka a.s. and ISTROKAPITAL SE v. Hellenic Republic came as an unpleasant surprise for holders of Greek sovereign debt, who suffered losses because of the sovereign debt restructuring (SDR) that took place in February 2012, since it seems to be at odds with past case law on the matter. The tribunalfound that it did not have jurisdiction to hear the dispute, inter alia, because the acquisition of Greek sovereign bonds by Poitovo banka did not constitute an 'investment' under Article 1(1) of the Greece-Slovakia Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT). At any rate, according to the tribunal, transactions over sovereign bonds on the secondary markets do not fall within the definition of 'investment' under Article 25 of the ICSID Convention. In this article, the author questions the narrow interpretation of the definition of 'invest- ment', as set forth in Article 1(1) of the Greece-Slovakia BIT, adopted by the tribunal. In declining jurisdiction, the tribunal looked through the provisions of Greek law so as to ascertain whether the claimants had rights protected under the BIT. The author advocates a different interpretation of the relevant provisions of Greek law in accordance with legal doctrine in Greece concerning the rights of investors over dematerialized government debt. The author also supports a wide meaning of the term 'investment' under Article 25 of the ICSID Convention, so that sovereign bonds are included in the definition. 1 INTRODUCTION In February 2012, Greece launched a sovereign debt restructuring (SDR), which was the largest in history covering approximately 206 billion euros of public debt, and the first of a Eurozone Member State. Investors holding sovereign bonds issued by the Greek state were invited to turn in their bonds and exchange them with a bundle of new securities. The new securities consisted of new government bonds of substantially lesser nominal value and much longer maturities, and bonds issued by the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF). Greece received a second bail- out package by its official sector creditors as financial support in order to Adjunct Lecturer at the Hellenic Open University, Ph.D (University of Athens), LLM (Queen Mary and Westfield College), Attorney-At-Law (Athens Bar). 0. Mitsou, Anna. 'Greek Debt Restructuring and Investment Treaty Arbitration: Jurisdictional Stumbling Blocks for Bondholders'. Journal of International Arbitration 33, no. 6 (2016): 687-722. 0 2016 Kluwer Law International BV, The Netherlands

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