Suez, Sociedad General de Aguas de Barcelona, S.A., and Vivendi Universal S.A. (Claimants) v. The Argentine Republic (Respondent) ICSID Case No. ARB/03/19

This document is an order from the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) regarding a petition by five non-governmental organizations to participate as amicus curiae in the case of Suez, Sociedad General de Aguas de Barcelona, S.A., and Vivendi Universal S.A. v. The Argentine Republic. The Tribunal grants the petition, allowing the organizations to make a joint submission based on the public interest nature of the dispute, while denying their request for unrestricted access to arbitration documents.

• The Tribunal determined that the case is appropriate for amicus curiae submissions because it involves matters of public interest, specifically the water distribution and sewage systems of Buenos Aires and surrounding municipalities, which provide basic public services to millions of people and raise complex international law and human rights questions.
• The Tribunal ruled that the withdrawal of Aguas Argentinas S.A. (AASA) and the end of its concession did not change the nature of the case or make it inappropriate for amicus submissions. Even if the final decision is limited to monetary liability, the Tribunal must still assess the international responsibility of Argentina regarding the provision of basic public services.
• The five petitioning non-governmental organizations—Asociación Civil por la Igualdad y la Justicia (ACIJ), Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS), Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), Consumidores Libres Cooperativa Ltda. de Provisión de Servicios de Acción Comunitaria, and Unión de Usuarios y Consumidores—were found suitable to act as amici curiae due to their expertise, experience, and independence in human rights, the environment, and public services.
• The Tribunal rejected the Claimants' argument that the proper forum for the Petitioners was the domestic courts of Argentina, stating that the ICSID case and domestic litigation involve different legal frameworks and that the role of an amicus curiae is to assist the Tribunal rather than act as a litigant.
• The Tribunal denied the Petitioners' request for unrestricted access to all arbitration documents, concluding that the Petitioners already possess sufficient information from other sources and the public Decision on Jurisdiction to provide the necessary perspectives and expertise without accessing the confidential record.
• The Tribunal clarified that the role of an amicus curiae is to provide arguments, perspectives, and expertise—which may relate to law, facts, or the application of law to facts—to help the decision maker, and is not limited to providing new factual elements.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2007). Suez, Sociedad General de Aguas de Barcelona, S.A., and Vivendi Universal S.A. (Claimants) v. The Argentine Republic (Respondent) ICSID Case No. ARB/03/19. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ICSID_Response_12Feb07.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. Suez, Sociedad General de Aguas de Barcelona, S.A., and Vivendi Universal S.A. (Claimants) v. The Argentine Republic (Respondent) ICSID Case No. ARB/03/19. 2007. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ICSID_Response_12Feb07.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=Suez, Sociedad General de Aguas de Barcelona, S.A., and Vivendi Universal S.A. (Claimants) v. The Argentine Republic (Respondent) ICSID Case No. ARB/03/19 |date=12 February 2007 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ICSID_Response_12Feb07.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2007suez, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{Suez, Sociedad General de Aguas de Barcelona, S.A., and Vivendi Universal S.A. (Claimants) v. The Argentine Republic (Respondent) ICSID Case No. ARB/03/19}}, publisher = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2007}, month = feb, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ICSID_Response_12Feb07.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }