Der aktuelle Stand bei Vattenfall geg. Deutschland II: Die deutsche Öffentlichkeit wird im Unklaren gelassen

The document examines the legal proceedings between the Swedish state-owned company Vattenfall and the German government following the 2011 decision to accelerate the nuclear phase-out. It highlights the significant financial claims made by Vattenfall and criticizes the secrecy surrounding the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) proceedings, arguing that the public interest in transparency should outweigh confidentiality in cases involving billions in taxpayer funds and critical national energy policy.

• Vattenfall initiated arbitration with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and filed a lawsuit with the German Federal Constitutional Court to seek "faire Kompensation für die finanziellen Verluste" resulting from the accelerated nuclear phase-out of the Krümmel and Brunsbüttel plants.
• Compensation claims from Vattenfall have evolved in media reports, starting from at least 700 million euros to reports of 3.5 billion euros, and most recently reaching 4,675,903,975.32 euros plus 4 percent interest.
• The German government reported that between the start of the proceedings in 2012 and mid-October 2014, it spent over 3.2 million euros on legal fees, expert honoraria, and translation services, with total expected costs potentially reaching 9 million euros.
• Germany attempted to have the case dismissed early by filing objections on January 10, 2013, claiming the case was "offensichtlich aussichtslos" (manifestly without legal merit) under ICSID Rule 41(5), but the proceedings continued, indicating the tribunal did not find the claim meritless.
• The ICSID tribunal issued four confidentiality orders between February and May 2014, yet neither the tribunal nor the parties have published these orders or the underlying arguments, leaving the public and even members of parliament without meaningful information.
• The document argues that ICSID rules do not mandate general confidentiality and that transparency should be prioritized in this case because it involves "Milliarden von Steuergeldern" and a parliamentary decision on nuclear energy that reflects public opinion.

APA

Bernasconi-Osterwalder, N., & Brauch, M. D. (2014). Der aktuelle Stand bei Vattenfall geg. Deutschland II: Die deutsche Öffentlichkeit wird im Unklaren gelassen. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/state-of-play-vattenfall-vs-germany-II-leaving-german-public-dark-de.pdf

Chicago

Bernasconi-Osterwalder, Nathalie, and Martin Dietrich Brauch. Der aktuelle Stand bei Vattenfall geg. Deutschland II: Die deutsche Öffentlichkeit wird im Unklaren gelassen. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2014. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/state-of-play-vattenfall-vs-germany-II-leaving-german-public-dark-de.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bernasconi-Osterwalder |first1=Nathalie |last2=Brauch |first2=Martin Dietrich |title=Der aktuelle Stand bei Vattenfall geg. Deutschland II: Die deutsche Öffentlichkeit wird im Unklaren gelassen |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=December 2014 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/state-of-play-vattenfall-vs-germany-II-leaving-german-public-dark-de.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bernasconiosterwalder2014der, author = {Bernasconi-Osterwalder, Nathalie and Brauch, Martin Dietrich}, title = {{Der aktuelle Stand bei Vattenfall geg. Deutschland II: Die deutsche Öffentlichkeit wird im Unklaren gelassen}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2014}, month = dec, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/state-of-play-vattenfall-vs-germany-II-leaving-german-public-dark-de.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }