The ruling, which determined that Chile does not have to compensate Víctor Pey and the President Salvador Allende Foundation, marks the end of 19 years of judicial differences.

The World Bank’s Washington-based International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) issued a definitive ruling in the so-called “Clarín case” yesterday, determining that the State of Chile does not have to compensate the claimants, Víctor Pey and Spain’s President Salvador Allende Foundation. The ruling follows a request for arbitration presented against the State of Chile in 2013 after the partial annulment in 2012 of the original arbitration ruling, issued in 2008, which had ordered Chile to pay US$10,132,690 plus interest to the claimants who had filed for compensation of US$515 million.

In the ruling, the ICSID rejected the claimants’ request for financial compensation for denial of justice or moral damages and ordered them to reimburse the State of Chile for US$159,509.43 on account of costs of the arbitration proceedings.

The Chilean government indicated that “this is a clear ruling in favor of the State with which we are satisfied. The arbitration tribunal has accepted the arguments which Chile consistently put forward at each stage of the process. The defense team ensured that the State’s position prevailed and has been successful in its task of responsibly safeguarding assets and resources that belong to all Chileans. This ruling concludes the only controversy before the ICSID involving Chile”.

“Like our country’s governments since the return of democracy, this government reiterates its respect for international law and expresses its total willingness to comply with undertakings that arise from the rulings of international courts. Our country has given guarantees of its seriousness and adherence to norms, based on the commitments and treaties we have signed in recent decades,” it added.