Chavez: Venezuela won’t accept rulings by World Bank’s international arbitration body
By Associated Press, Updated: Friday, January 27, 8:09 PM
CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela’s government will ignore future decisions by a World Bank-affiliated arbitration body involving any business disputes in the South American country, President Hugo Chavez said Friday.
Venezuela formally began its withdrawal from the Washington-based International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes this week.
Chavez has said that disagreements with foreign companies operating in Venezuela should be settled with local authorities and within its judicial system.
“There won’t be any order of any kind that transcends the constitution. Venezuela is truly free and truly independent,” Chavez said during a televised address Friday.
“Any decision they make in the ICSID ricochets off the constitution,” he added.
The ICSID’s website lists 18 pending cases against Venezuela. Among them are multimillion-dollar claims by the Houston-based oil company ConocoPhillips Co., U.S. glass manufacturer Owens-Illinois Inc. and Canadian mining company Crystallex International Corp.
Financial analysts say Venezuela’s withdrawal from the center would not affect pending ICSID cases under terms of the international convention that created the body. Venezuela signed the treaty in 1966.
Analysts say Venezuela’s withdrawal could scare off foreign investors, particularly oil companies with potential interest in forming joint ventures with the state-run oil firm Petroleos de Venezuela. The country is looking for foreign help to develop its Orinoco Oil Belt, which holds vast deposits of extra-heavy crude.
