Can a foreign state invoke sovereign immunity to resist the registration and enforcement of an ICSID arbitration award in Singapore? That question was at the heart of a landmark High Court case argued by TSMP Law Corporation’s Thio Shen Yi, S.C., together with Director Joshua Phang, Senior Associate Ang Kai Le and Legal Executive Prakhunwicha Sararaksh.

Acting for Dutch investors NextEra Energy Global Holdings B.V. and NextEra Energy Spain Holdings B.V., the team successfully resisted an application by the Kingdom of Spain to set aside the registration in Singapore of a €290 million award issued under the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) framework, arising from a dispute under the Energy Charter Treaty.

The TSMP international arbitration team comprised (clockwise from top left): Joint Managing Partner Thio Shen Yi, S.C.; Director Joshua Phang; Senior Associate Ang Kai Le; and Legal Executive Prakhunwicha Sararaksh.

In NextEra Energy Global Holdings BV and another v Kingdom of Spain [2026] SGHC 43, decided in late February, Justice Andre Maniam rejected Spain’s argument that the registration of the award was barred by sovereign immunity under the Singapore State Immunity Act 1979.

The decision is significant for its detailed, first-principles analysis of the statutory framework governing state immunity and the registration and enforcement of ICSID awards in Singapore. The High Court’s judgment also reinforces Singapore’s strong pro-arbitration stance. It addresses complex issues including the interaction between sections 4 and 11 of the State Immunity Act, whether registration of an ICSID award may be set aside in the interests of justice, and the extent to which Singapore courts should take into account foreign legal principles and obligations, including those arising under European Union law.