Arbitration & Litigation
Menas Associates has been supporting law firms and in-house lawyers on international border disputes since 1981, and has considerable experience from diverse and complex cases.
Expertise
Our expertise in this field began when Menas was asked to assemble data in support of Libya’s offshore border dispute against Tunisia, before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Since then we have advised on disputes including:
Libya’s claims against Tunisia, Malta and Chad
Egypt’s dispute with Israel over Taba
Cameroon’s land and maritime dispute with Nigeria
Advice to governments on their claims (or contested claims) before the ICJ in The Hague
Advice on arbitral proceedings
Advice to natural resource companies on the ownership of assets, and on the possibility of disputes that may have a bearing on their operations in present or in the future, both on land and sea
The Yemen-Saudi border
The Jordanian-Israeli border
South Sudan vs Sudan land border
Archival research and para-legal support to law firms on boundary-related disputes
Expert analysis on the background of disputes, possible routes to settlement, and related prognoses
Project managing and coordinating multidisciplinary teams handling extended projects
We are able to provide expert witnesses for law firms, international oil companies or any other company in need, anywhere in the world. Our work includes:
Advice to governments on their claims (or contested claims) before the ICJ in The Hague
Advice on arbitral proceedings
Advice to natural resource companies on the ownership of assets, and on the possibility of disputes that may have a bearing on their operations in present or in the future, both on land and sea
Archival research and para-legal support to law firms on boundary-related disputes
Expert analysis on the background of disputes, possible routes to settlement, and related prognoses
Project managing and coordinating multidisciplinary teams handling extended projects
Arbitration cases
Our initial arbitration case work involved providing, managing, and coordinating the group of oil economists that supported Iran’s legal team in the major oil cases of the 1980’s, before the US-Iran Claims Tribunal. Besides expert witnesses, Menas also undertook and coordinated almost all of the international research and evidence gathering for these cases. Since then we have undertaken multiple, and varied, arbitration projects across the globe.
Examples of our work, for either the insurers or the insured include:
The looting of car show rooms in Kuwait by Iraqi soldiers
Four refineries in Azerbaijan, Russia, and Ukraine
A large enhanced oil recovery project in Myanmar
Mobile phone licenses in Iran
Aluminium smelting in Tajikistan
The confiscation of on-shore oil rigs in Argentina and Venezuela
An LNG plant in Egypt
The cancellation of a large EPC contract in Algeria
Philippine banana exports to China
Industrial plants in Saudi Arabia
Our role in these cases involved:
Finding the most suitable experts for the case
Undertaking the evidence gathering for the case, which can frequently involve both primary and secondary research in numerous countries and in different languages
Coordinating and managing the research team and experts
Liaising with the client and their legal team
Preparation of memorials and counter-memorials
Provision of expert witnesses
Any other ‘local-knowledge’ related tasks are required by the client and their legal team