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28 November 2002
The Arbitral Tribunal
in The Hague made public on 25 November 2002 its decision
regarding the mandatory withdrawal of all 72,648 shares of the
Bank for International Settlements (BIS) formerly held by
private shareholders (See BIS press
release).
As already announced, the Bank will voluntarily apply the
Tribunal's decision to all former private shareholders in
final settlement of all claims. All registered former private
shareholders were contacted by way of the Note to Private
Shareholders dated 27/28 November
2002.
Background
On 8 January 2001, an Extraordinary General Meeting of
the BIS had decided to restrict the right to hold shares in
the BIS exclusively to central banks and approved the
mandatory repurchase of all BIS shares held by private
shareholders against payment of compensation of CHF 16,000 per
share. All former private shareholders were contacted by way
of the Notes to Private Shareholders dated 15 September
2000 and 10 January
2001 which describe the transaction in more detail.
Initial compensation has been paid for more than 99% of the
shares, and the BIS continues its efforts to contact those who
have not yet responded.
Pursuant to Article 54 of the BIS Statutes,
disputes concerning the interpretation or application of the
Statutes, in particular between the Bank and its shareholders,
must be referred for final decision to the Hague Arbitral
Tribunal. In 2001, three former private shareholders
challenged the repurchase by initiating proceedings before the
Tribunal. Hearings in those arbitrations were held in The
Hague on 26-28 August 2002.
The Tribunal's decision and further information relating to
the case can be found on the Permanent Court of
Arbitration's website.
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