Islamabad: The Supreme Court on Friday ruled that the agreement reached between Canadian mining company Barrick Gold and the government of Pakistan in the Reko Diq mining project is legal.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Atta Bandyal announced the brief 13-page opinion after a five-member larger bench of the Supreme Court reserved its verdict on the presidential reference on November 29.
In the settlement agreement, there is no violation of the Supreme Court’s 2013 judgment, which had earlier declared the agreement null and void.
The Supreme Court further said that the federal and provincial governments had entered into an agreement with the opinion of experts and the Balochistan Assembly had been taken into confidence. It was also said that even the elected public representatives did not object to the agreement.
The Chief Justice said that Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments have made laws for the development of mineral resources.
According to the Supreme Court’s opinion, there was no illegal clause in the contract and the Canadian mining firm had given assurances that labor laws would be enforced and corporate social responsibility would be ensured.
The bench maintained that the Foreign Investment Bill is not only for Barrick Gold but for every company that wants to invest more than $500 million in the country.
Through the Presidential Reference, the government sought opinion on two questions.
Firstly, there is a contract with the complainant company Tethyan Copper Company (TCC), which is in line with the earlier decision of the Supreme Court in Maulvi Abdul Haq case.
In July 2019, the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) tribunal ruled in favor of the TCC, ordering Pakistan to pay a hefty fine of $5.9 billion.
Second, is the proposed Investment Protection Act constitutional? “Whether the proposed Foreign Investment (Protection and Promotion) Bill, 2022 would be valid and constitutional or not,” the President questioned.
If Barrick Gold and Pakistan do not reach an agreement by December 15, the country will face a $100 million fine.
Similarly, the country will be awarded billions of dollars by the ICC arbitration tribunal. Two steps are required before signing the contract.
First, the opinion of the Supreme Court on two questions, and secondly, the appropriate legislation on this investment.
Earlier, on the advice of the Prime Minister, President Arif Alvi filed a reference in the Supreme Court under Article 186 of the Constitution, requesting the Supreme Court to examine two important questions.
