Churchill: ICSID delays ruling on document authenticity

By Romel S. Gurky

LSE-listed Churchill Mining plc said that the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) has delayed the issuance of a ruling on document authenticity in relation to coal investment dispute between the company and the Indonesian government from the initial schedule of September.

Churchill said in a statement on Monday that it had received on September 10 a letter from the Tribunal inviting Churchill and Indonesia to provide their views on three points of international law arising out of a particular legal authority.

?Whilst the Tribunal advised that it regretted the delay that these additional submissions will cause to the planned issuance of its decision, the Tribunal deemed it appropriate to give the Parties an opportunity to comment on these specific points of law,? the statement said.

The Tribunal has further advised that once it has deliberated on the Parties' additional submissions it expects to be in a position to issue its decision, Churchill added.

The company said the Tribunal has set the deadline for lodgement of the Parties' additional submission as September 23, 2016, with any submissions in reply to be filed by October 7, 2016.

Churchill Chairman David Quinlivan said "the company will file the requested submission and reply in accordance with the advised timetable and we look forward to the Tribunal handing down its decision."

Churchill and its Australian subsidiary Planet Mining filed in 2014 a lawsuit with Washington-based ICSID against the government of Indonesia, which has been accused by the company of unlawfully revoking its mining license over the East Kutai coal project in East Kalimantan. The East Kutai coal project is Churchill?s only asset. The UK firm has sought for about $1.3 billion in compensation.

The Indonesian government has accused Churchill of falsifying license documents of the East Kutai coal project.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak