Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal Awards Iran Compensation for Legal Expenses Incurred in U.S. Courts (July 2, 2014) [1]
On July 2, 2014, the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal (the Tribunal) issued [3] Award No. 602 in Cases A15 (IV) and A24. The Tribunal awarded $842,468.14 to Iran to compensate for legal expenses that Iran incurred when it was “reasonably compelled in the prudent defense of its interests to make appearances or file documents in United States courts.” The Tribunal held that the United States had not complied with its obligations under General Principle B of the General Declaration [4]to “terminate all litigation as between the government of [Iran and the United States] and to bring about the settlement and termination of all such claims through binding arbitration,” or its obligations under Article VII, paragraph 2, of the Claims Settlement Declaration [5], which provides, inter alia, that “[c]laims referred to the arbitration Tribunal shall . . . be considered exclude from the jurisdiction of the courts of Iran, or of the United States, or of any other court.”