The State of Play in Vattenfall v. Germany II: Leaving the German public in the dark

This briefing note by the International Institute for Sustainable Development examines the Vattenfall v. Germany II arbitration case, focusing on the lack of transparency regarding Germany's decision to phase out nuclear power and the resulting financial claims by Vattenfall.

• Vattenfall, a Swedish state-owned energy company, initiated arbitration against Germany through the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) following the German parliament's decision to accelerate the nuclear energy phase-out to be completed by 2022. This decision led to the immediate shutdown of the Brunsbüttel and Krümmel power plants, where Vattenfall held 50 per cent and 66.7 per cent ownership, respectively.
• The financial claims made by Vattenfall have varied in reports, with the most recent figures cited in the document indicating a claim of €4,675,903,975.32 (approximately US$5.8 billion) plus 4 per cent interest. Other reports mentioned claims of €700 million, €3.5 billion, or over €4 billion.
• The German government has incurred significant legal costs for the Vattenfall II proceedings. Between the start of arbitration in 2012 and mid-October 2014, the government spent over €3.2 million on experts, attorneys, and translations, including €200,000 in arbitration costs. Total costs for the proceedings are estimated to potentially reach €9 million.
• The arbitration process has been characterized by a high degree of secrecy. While the ICSID website provides cryptic procedural updates, no party submissions or tribunal orders have been published. The document notes that the German government has kept case documents in a high-security building of the parliament, denying press inquiries and limiting parliamentarians to a one-page summary.
• Procedurally, Germany attempted to have the case dismissed on January 10, 2013, by filing preliminary objections claiming the case was 'manifestly without legal merit' under ICSID Arbitration Rule 41(5). Because the parties subsequently filed memorials on the merits, the authors assume the tribunal did not dismiss the claim. Additionally, the tribunal issued a procedural order on September 7, 2014, regarding whether to address jurisdictional objections as a preliminary question (bifurcation).
• The authors argue that ICSID rules do not impose a general duty of confidentiality and that transparency should prevail in Vattenfall II because billions of euros in taxpayer money are at stake and the nuclear phase-out is a matter of public policy. They contrast Vattenfall's secret arbitration with the public judicial challenges brought by energy companies RWE and E.ON before the Federal Constitutional Court.

APA

Bernasconi-Osterwalder, N., & Brauch, M. D. (2014). The State of Play in Vattenfall v. Germany II: Leaving the German public in the dark. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/state-of-play-vattenfall-vs-germany-II-leaving-german-public-dark-en.pdf

Chicago

Bernasconi-Osterwalder, Nathalie, and Martin Dietrich Brauch. The State of Play in Vattenfall v. Germany II: Leaving the German public in the dark. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2014. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/state-of-play-vattenfall-vs-germany-II-leaving-german-public-dark-en.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bernasconi-Osterwalder |first1=Nathalie |last2=Brauch |first2=Martin Dietrich |title=The State of Play in Vattenfall v. Germany II: Leaving the German public in the dark |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-en.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bernasconiosterwalder2014state, author = {Bernasconi-Osterwalder, Nathalie and Brauch, Martin Dietrich}, title = {{The State of Play in Vattenfall v. Germany II: Leaving the German public in the dark}}, 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-en.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }