LEAUA DAMCALI DEACONU PAUNESCU – LDDP announces that, together with international law firm LALIVE, it has secured a second and final victory for the Romanian State in its long-running, over a decade long, dispute with Canadian mining company Gabriel Resources, successfully defending against Gabriel Resources’ attempt to annul the arbitral award that dismissed its multibillion-dollar claims against Romania.
The dispute concerned Gabriel Resources’ failed plans to develop Europe’s largest open-cast gold mine in the Western Romanian town of Rosia Montana, after it obtained concession rights to the area in 1999. In the arbitration, Gabriel Resources sought US$6.7 billion in damages from Romania after the project failed to proceed amid environmental and civil rights concerns.
In March 2024, an ICSID tribunal dismissed Gabriel Resources’ claims in their entirety and ordered the company to reimburse Romania approximately US$10 million in legal fees and expenses. Gabriel Resources subsequently sought to annul that award under the ICSID Convention.
On 13 November 2026, the ICSID ad hoc Committee dismissed Gabriel Resources’ application for annulment, confirming Romania’s victory in the underlying proceedings.
Romania was represented by LALIVE and LEAUA DAMCALI DEACONU PAUNESCU – LDDP. The international LALIVE team advising Romania included Matthias Scherer in Zurich, Lorraine de Germiny, Isabel San Martín and Puloma Mukherjee in London, and Emilie McConaughey in Geneva. The LDDP team included Professor Crenguța Leaua (lead coordinator), Professor Stefan Deaconu, Andreea N. Simulescu (co-coordinator), Liliana Deaconescu, Andra Soare-Filatov, and Corina Tanase.
Matthias Scherer of LALIVE declares : “We were honored to serve the Romanian people. It is a great satisfaction to see that Romania defeated Gabriel’s excessive demands.”.
Professor Crenguța Leaua of LDDP adds: “We welcome with great satisfaction the annulment Committee’s decision, which marks the well-deserved conclusion of a decade-long arbitration of exceptional significance to Romania. This is a moment of profound professional pride for our entire team, but also one of genuine personal emotion for everyone who has contributed to this remarkable journey. The outcome reflects the hard work and professionalism of all colleagues involved throughout the arbitral proceedings, as well as the shared determination and mutual trust among the team members.”
Gabriel Resources was advised in the annulment proceedings by White & Case and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.
