The long road to execution - state immunity and the challenge of funding the enforcement of ICSID awards in England and Wales

Join Duncan Speller (Partner and Co-Chair of International Disputes at Duane Morris), Mark Handley (Partner at Duane Morris), Oliver Kent (Special Counsel at Duane Morris), Justin Li (Associate at Duane Morris), and Dr. Hasan Azizagaoglu Azizagaoglu (Bench Walk Advisors) for an engaging discussion about the challenges facing award creditors (and their successors) in funding the enforcement of ICSID awards in the context of state immunity, and the innovative solutions provided by litigation funders.

This panel will cover topics such as:

• The process involved in the registration of ICSID awards in England and Wales and the landscape following the Supreme Court’s recent decision in The Kingdom of Spain v Infrastructure Services Luxembourg S.À.R.L. and another; Republic of Zimbabwe v Border Timbers Ltd and another [2026] UKSC 9, in which the Supreme Court held that states do not have adjudicative immunity in respect of the recognition of ICSID awards;

• The potential problems faced by investors selling award debt in light of the English High Court decision in Operafund & Another -v- Spain, in which the Court held that ICSID awards are not assignable under their governing law; and

• The solutions provided by litigation funding in a post-PACCAR world pending the realisation of the UK Government’s decision to legislate to reverse PACCAR.