Latest news with #USSC
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Business
- Indian Express
US Supreme Court reverses order which provided relief to Government of India in dispute over $1.2 billion award for failed 2005 Devas-Antrix satellite deal
In a setback for the Government of India and Antrix Corporation – a commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) – the US Supreme Court has rolled back a reprieve given in 2023 by a US appeals court in a legal battle over a compensation claim of $1.2 billion by start-up firm Devas Multimedia for a failed satellite deal from the year 2005. The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit had ruled on August 1, 2023, that Antrix Corp, as an alter ego of India, must have some amount of business in the US to be subjected to the jurisdiction of US courts under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) of the US. The August 2023 order of the appeals court was expected to end efforts by Devas Multimedia to enforce in the United States a $1.2 billion compensation award made by an arbitration tribunal of the International Chamber of Commerce on September 14, 2015. The award had been confirmed by the US court for the Western District of Washington on October 27, 2020. The US Supreme Court, in an order dated June 5, following a plea by Devas Multimedia against the August 2023 appeals court order, has ruled that the appeals court had erred in its ruling that a firm must have some minimum business in the US for it to be liable to be sued in US courts. The US Supreme Court, which reserved its orders in the matter on March 3, 2025, has stated in its order on Thursday that US courts have jurisdiction over foreign entities 'when an immunity exception applies and service is proper'. 'The FSIA does not require proof of 'minimum contacts' over and above the contacts already required by the Act's enumerated exceptions to foreign sovereign immunity,' the US Supreme Court has ruled while reversing the 2023 order of the appeals court. The US SC has referred the case back to the Ninth Circuit for fresh consideration of the matter. 'Antrix's alternative arguments – that the Fifth Amendment itself requires a showing of minimum contacts, that the claims at issue do not fall within the FSIA's arbitration exception, and that the suit should be dismissed under forum non conveniens – were not addressed below by the Ninth Circuit. This Court declines to address them in the first instance,' the US SC said in its June 5 order. Earlier during the hearing of the case in the US SC, India had asked the court to respect the comity of nations by upholding the August 2023 order for setting aside the $1.2 billion arbitration award against Antrix Corp. 'India has great interest in ensuring that the set-aside decisions, and the Supreme Court of India decision on which they are based, are afforded comity and due respect from the courts of the United States,' said a written submission made by the Government of India to the US SC, ahead of the commencement of an oral hearing on March 3 by the US SC. When the oral arguments in the dispute over the $1.2 billion arbitration award were allowed by a bench of the US Supreme Court on March 3, the counsel for Antrix argued that the case 'serves as an irritant to the Indian government'. The counsel for Antrix Corp, Carter G Philips, said during the oral arguments that the Antrix-Devas agreement of 2005 – which was cancelled for security reasons during the tenure of the UPA government in 2011 – did not have any US interests or anything 'that remotely affects either interstate or foreign commerce'. The Antrix Corp counsel argued that only courts in India could deal with the matter according to the original agreement and that the Supreme Court of India had already set aside the ICC arbitration award in favour of Devas Multimedia. The acting Solicitor General for the US Department of Justice, Sarah M Harris, who argued as an amicus curiae on behalf of the US investors in Devas Multimedia in the US SC said that the US appeals court had erred in ruling that a foreign entity like Antrix Corp should have some minimum contacts in terms of business in the US to be subject to US courts. She said that the US FSIA says 'when personal jurisdiction over a foreign state shall exist and omits any minimum contacts requirement. That is all this court needs to hold to reverse. The Ninth Circuit's contrary statutory holding disregards that text, and no one, even Respondent, appears to defend it.' Following the filing of the case in the US SC against the appeals court order by Devas Multimedia investors, several business bodies like the US Council for International Business, the Chamber of Commerce of the USA and the American Petroleum Institute supported the stand of the investors in Devas Multimedia – that an enterprise does not require to have business interests in the US for federal courts to confirm international arbitration awards. The Ninth Circuit court's order that a foreign entity must have minimum contact or presence in the US to be liable to suits 'undermines (the US) Congress's goal of creating a uniform body of law concerning the amenability of a foreign sovereign to suit in United States courts,' the foreign investors in Devas Multimedia argued. The August 1, 2023, order of the US appeals court was a major relief for Antrix Corp and the Indian government, which is fighting legal battles all over the world in connection with a 2011 decision of the UPA government to annul a satellite deal with Devas Multimedia. Antrix had argued that 'there is no longer an award to enforce because the Delhi High Court – the court of competent jurisdiction to determine the award's enforceability – set it aside, a decision affirmed by the Indian Supreme Court.' The UPA government annulled the 2005 Devas-Antrix satellite deal in February 2011, citing the requirement of space spectrum allocated for the satellite services of Devas for security needs. The deal was cancelled after it was cited as a 'sweetheart deal' and another instance of corruption under the UPA regime after the 2G scam. Under the failed 2005 Antrix-Devas deal, Isro was supposed to lease two communication satellites for 12 years for Rs 167 crore to Devas Multimedia. The start-up was to provide multimedia services to mobile platforms in India using the space band or S-band transponders on Isro's GSAT 6 and 6A satellites. After the NDA government came to power in 2014, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) began seriously investigating the deal, even as the foreign investors in Devas Multimedia – The German telecom major Deutsche Telekom, three Mauritius investors, and Devas Multimedia itself – approached various international tribunals seeking compensation for the failed deal. Devas Multimedia was awarded $1.2 billion by the International Chamber of Commerce on September 14, 2015. Deutsche Telekom was awarded $101 million in compensation by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in Geneva, and the Mauritius investors were awarded $111 million by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law. The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in India ordered the liquidation of Devas Multimedia on May 25, 2021, citing fraud in its creation. The NCLT order was upheld by the Supreme Court of India on January 17, 2022.
Middle East Eye
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
US plans to eliminate security office coordinating with Palestinian Authority
The Trump administration plans to eliminate the position of US security coordinator for the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, according to several media reports. US General Mike Fenzel, who has held the position since 2021, was told last week that his position is going to be cut, with an announcement due in the coming weeks, The Times of Israel reported on Wednesday. Axios reported earlier that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was weighing axing the position, but has yet to make a decision, although Fenzel told colleagues he believes his position will be eliminated. The US Security Coordinator's (USSC) office is a little-known post, but it is the most public centrepiece of the US's defence engagement with the Palestinian Authority's (PA) security services. The position was created in 2005 to train PA security forces and foster coordination with Israel. The Jerusalem office is tied to the US State Department, but its chief is a US general. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Questions about the USSC's fate have swirled publicly since 22 April, when Rubio unveiled a list of offices that will be part of his reorganisation of the State Department. The USSC was not listed among the departments and Bureaus. The USSC coordinates arms supplies and training to the Palestinian security services. It is also a channel of communication between Israel and the PA when ties between them are tense or downgraded. The Central Intelligence Agency also plays a role in providing support to the PA's security services clandestinely, officials say. US-PA ties uncertain The Times of Israel reported that the Trump administration is not considering eliminating the position as a matter of policy, but as part of a wider cost-saving drive. Regardless, if the USSC is eliminated, it would signal a swift downgrade in the administration's priorities. The Biden administration put a renewed focus on the USSC as part of its post-war planning for the Gaza Strip. Exclusive: Palestinian Authority tells US it is ready to 'clash' with Hamas for control of Gaza Read More » Middle East Eye reported in June 2024 that former senior US officials circulated a plan for US Central Command to become more involved in coordinating with the PA's security services as part of post-war Gaza planning. A slew of the Biden administration's plans for post-war Gaza never materialised. After a brief ceasefire announced in January, Israel resumed its war on Gaza in March with Trump's support. The PA did pitch itself to Steve Witkoff, Trump's Middle East envoy, as a security force that could combat Hamas in Gaza during a meeting in Riyadh, MEE revealed previously. But the next month, Trump unveiled his plan for the US to take over the Gaza Strip and turn it into a 'Middle East Riviera.' He has backed off that plan for now, but has not mentioned the PA. Meanwhile, the UAE has been lobbying the Trump administration against an Arab League plan that would entail an enhanced and Egyptian-trained PA providing security in the post-war Gaza Strip. If the USSC position is eliminated, it would further reduce the US's footprint of senior officials with the PA. Hans Wechsel, who headed the State Department's Office for Palestinian Affairs, resigned from his post in March. The Trump administration has yet to fill that position. Inside Israel's government, voices have grown louder for Israel to officially annex the occupied West Bank, which the Office of Palestinian Affairs and USSC mainly oversees.
Roya News
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Roya News
Trump administration freezes funding to Palestinian Authority
The Washington Post reported that the Trump administration has halted all financial support to the Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces as part of a global freeze on foreign assistance, according to US and Palestinian sources. This decision comes at a crucial moment for the PA, which is grappling with maintaining control in parts of the West Bank and navigating governance in a postwar Gaza Strip. The PA's security forces, often underfunded and facing widespread unpopularity, are vital for sustaining law and order across both regions. During Trump's first term, direct aid to the PA was suspended, but funding for training and reform of the security forces continued through the Office of the Security Coordinator in Jerusalem. This office, previously known as the United States Security Coordinator (USSC) for "Israel" and the PA, operates with contributions from multiple countries. Brig. Gen. Anwar Rajab, spokesperson for the Palestinian security forces, remarked to The Washington Post that the US was a significant contributor to PA projects, including security and empowerment training for the forces. An unnamed former Israeli Occupation official stated that the USSC remains 'not affected in any meaningful way' by the funding freeze, noting that 'other donors have committed to make up the shortfall.' However, the freeze has already resulted in reductions in some training programs, according to a colonel who oversees training at the PA's Central Training Institute for security forces. This colonel, who also spoke under conditions of anonymity, highlighted that a meeting with US representatives to evaluate the PA's operations targeting militants in the Jenin refugee camp had been postponed and remains unscheduled. The US had also been funding the construction of a virtual shooting range for the institute, which is essential since "Israel" restricts the importation of live ammunition for training. Although the project was nearing completion, the institute is now seeking alternative funding sources due to the US freeze.
