TSMP has successfully defended NextEra against the Kingdom of Spain’s appeal in Kingdom of Spain v NextEra Energy Global Holdings BV [2026] SGCA 43.

The case turned on Article 54 of the ICSID Convention, under which each member State must recognise and enforce ICSID awards as if they were final judgments of its own courts.

The Court of Appeal held that this obligation is reciprocal. A State that agrees to enforce ICSID awards against others must accept that awards against it can be enforced in the same way. Otherwise, there would be “two irreconcilable regimes operating in tandem”. By joining the Convention, Spain had submitted to the Singapore courts’ jurisdiction to register the award, and could not rely on state immunity to set the registration aside.

The Court held that Spain’s accession to the ICSID Convention was a submission to the jurisdiction of the Singapore courts for proceedings to register and enforce ICSID awards. It agreed with the UK Supreme Court and the High Court of Australia, which reached the same conclusion. The Court observed that a consistent interpretation of Article 54 limits forum shopping, makes it easier to enforce awards across member States, builds confidence in arbitration, and serves the core aims of the ICSID Convention. Finally, it reaffirmed that Singapore courts are “duty-bound” to interpret domestic legislation in a manner that advances Singapore’s international obligations.