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Cases / Law, regulation and treaties · Mexico · 2016–2024

Mexico ordered to pay $37.1m over denied seabed phosphate permit

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 2 none on record · 1 not measured · 1 unclear See the gaps

Mexico's environment ministry refused Odyssey Marine a permit to extract phosphate from the seabed in 2016, and a NAFTA tribunal ordered Mexico to pay $37.1 million plus interest in September 2024. The company said most or all of the award would go to repaying its litigation funding.

What?
Odyssey Marine's NAFTA arbitration over the refused seabed phosphate permit ended with an award of $37.1 million plus interest in September 2024. ICIS
Where?
Mexico's seabed Mealey's
When?
Permit refused in 2016; award in September 2024 ICIS
Who?
Gained
  • Odyssey Marine — award of $37.1 million plus interest ICIS
  • Litigation funders (not named in the sources reviewed) — repayment of litigation funding from the award, as the company said Mealey's
Lost
  • Government of Mexico — ordered to pay $37.1 million plus interest ICIS
Harmed
None on record
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
NAFTA investor claim after the refused permit; the tribunal ordered payment. ICIS
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

Mexico's environment ministry refused Odyssey Marine a permit to extract phosphate from the seabed in 2016, according to Mealey's.

In September 2024 a NAFTA arbitration tribunal ordered Mexico to pay $37.1 million plus interest, ICIS reported.

The company said most or all of the award would go to repaying its litigation funding.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    1. 2024-09Claimant won
      Odyssey Marine v. Mexico (seabed phosphate)
      NAFTA arbitration (per ICIS) · investor-state arbitration · Odyssey Marine → Mexico

      The tribunal ordered Mexico to pay $37.1 million plus interest over the refused seabed phosphate permit, as reported by Mealey's and ICIS. ICIS

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Record

    • None on record The sources reviewed do not describe the marine effects of the proposed seabed phosphate extraction.
    • Unclear Whether Mexico has paid the award was not found in the sources reviewed.
    • None on record The reason the permit was refused is not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers

    Press and investigations

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
    Terms used on this page

    Law and courts

    Arbitration
    A private dispute process in which an appointed arbitrator, instead of a court, decides the case.
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