Marcelo appointed to arbitration tribunal

MANILA, Philippines - The International Chamber of Commerce’s International Court of Arbitration (ICC-ICA) recently appointed former ombudsman Simeon Marcelo to its three-member arbitration tribunal.

The ICC-ICA is one of the world’s leading institutions for providing international arbitration services.

It is known for resolving international commercial and business disputes, administering more than half of all arbitration cases worldwide.

Marcelo’s specific task will be to arbitrate the case of Bangkok Metropolitan Administration versus Steyr-Daimler-Puch Spezialfahrzeug GmbH, an Austrian registered company.

Bangkok has a purchase agreement with Steyr involving the latter’s manufactured fire trucks, firefighting boats, and related equipment and accessories for the total amount of some 97.6 million euros.

But Thailand’s National Anti-Corruption Commission alleged that Steyr Corp. secured the purchase agreement through illegal means, in collusion with certain Thai government officials involved in the procurement process.

The Austrian firm denied such allegations, and wanted the deal to push through.

Thus, to settle the validity and effectivity of the agreement, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration filed before the ICC-ICA its request for arbitration against Steyr.

It was then that ICC-ICA appointed Marcelo as a member of the arbitration tribunal that will independently decide on the claims, submissions, and related issues raised by both parties.