Operafund et al. v. Spain: The English Courts Find ICSID Awards to Be Non-Assignable [pre-publication] - European Investment Law and Arbitration Review View Operafund et al. v. Spain: The English Courts Find ICSID Awards to Be Non-Assignable [pre-publication] by - European Investment Law and Arbitration Review Operafund et al. v. Spain: The English Courts Find ICSID Awards to Be Non-Assignable [pre-publication] 11 1 [pre-publication]

In a significant judgment for litigation funders and the secondary market for ICSID awards, the English Commercial Court in Operafund Eco-Invest SICAV plc and Schwab Holding AG v. Kingdom of Spain [2025] EWHC 2874 (Comm) refused the Claimants’ application to substitute an investment fund in their place in proceedings to enforce an arbitration award issued under the ICSID Convention (the ‘Convention’) and the Energy Charter Treaty (the ‘ECT’). The Claimants had assigned the proceeds of the award to the fund and sought to substitute it as claimant in the enforcement action.

The Court interpreted the wording of the Convention to mean that only the original party to an ICSID award was entitled to enforce it through court proceedings. The Court’s decision on this point of principle raises important questions as to how the market for ICSID awards in England and Wales will function going forward. While the judgment makes clear that ICSID award creditors can no longer directly assign their rights to third parties, litigation funders can continue to obtain award value under agency agreements and other private contractual arrangements.

European Investment Law and Arbitration Review