This is from the Financial Times:
Germany’s highest court has ruled that the country’s utilities should be compensated for the government’s decision in the wake of the Fukushima disaster to shut down all Germany’s nuclear reactors.
The decision by the Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe is a big victory for Eon, RWE and Vattenfall, the three utilities that were the biggest casualties of Berlin’s abrupt decision to abandon nuclear power. Shares in Eon and RWE rose more than 3 per cent on the news.
The court said the move was “lawful” but said the utilities were entitled to “adequate compensation”. It ordered the authorities to regulate the issue by June 2018.
Its ruling does not set how much should be paid to the companies, but allows them to pursue legal claims against the government or seek an out-of-court settlement.
One of the most controversial investor-state disputes is the Vattenfall case, related to the German decision to phase out nuclear energy noted above. Vattenfall once said:
"We are not questioning the decision to phase out nuclear power in Germany. But Vattenfall insists on being compensated for the financial loss resulting from this decision," says Vattenfall's General Counsel Anne Gynnerstedt.
Shortly after the Fukushima nuclear incident in Japan on 11 March 2011, Germany decided to phase out all its nuclear power plants by 2022. The decision led to the immediate closure of Vattenfall's power plants at Krümmel and Brunsbüttel.
A few months later, Vattenfall filed a case against the German state with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in Washington.
"Vattenfall saw no other way of obtaining compensation," points out Vattenfall's General Counsel Anne Gynnerstedt.
Now that it's clear there is a way to obtain compensation under domestic law, will Vattenfall still pursue the investment arbitration?
