Djibouti government’s seizure of Doraleh terminal ruled illegal

The London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) has ruled that the Djibouti government’s seizure of Doraleh Container Terminal (DCT) from DP World in February 2018 was illegal.

An arbitral tribunal ruled that DCT’s concession agreement remains “valid and binding” notwithstanding a law and several decrees, which were meant to empower the government to terminate its infrastructure agreements.

Law 202 and the 2018 Decrees were found to be ineffective in law by the tribunal, comprised of Professor Zachary Douglas QC.