International Arbitration, Litigation and Debt Recovery News

An international law firm’s endeavors, accomplishments and accolades

The Law Offices of Charles H. Camp, P.C. is committed to offering creative solutions for clients all over the world in the areas of international litigation, arbitration, negotiation and international debt recovery. Read the following international arbitration news, international litigation news and international debt recovery news for more information on the firm’s most recent legal endeavors and successes. For personalized service from an AV Preeminent rated international lawyer, contact Mr. Camp online or call 202.457.7786 or 301.461.0283 for a free initial consultation.

November 25, 2019

Washington, D.C. 

The Law Offices of Charles H. Camp, P.C. is pleased to announce that Kiran Nasir Gore has joined the firm as Counsel.  Ms. Gore will work on all facets of international dispute resolution, including commercial and investment arbitration, international litigation, judgment enforcements, and asset and debt recovery actions.

Ms. Gore brings to the firm over ten years of expertise in public and private international law, foreign investment strategies, and advocacy in U.S. and international settings.  She has extensive experience in commercial arbitration under various rules and institutions, investor-state arbitrations before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and ad hoc tribunals, and in U.S. litigation, including litigation in aid of arbitration.  She honed her skills as a Senior Associate at Three Crowns LLP in Washington, D.C. and as an Associate at DLA Piper LLP in New York.

She has represented governments, corporations, institutions, and private individuals all over the World, including in Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe.  Her successful track record includes several important and high-profile disputes.  In April 2018, her work resulted in a $2.04 billion ICC award against PDVSA for harm arising out of governmental fiscal measures and the ultimate expropriation of two of ConocoPhillips’ extra-heavy crude oil projects located in Venezuela’s Orinoco Oil Belt.  Earlier, she worked on Ghana’s defense team in an UNCITRAL commercial arbitration concerning the validity of a power purchase agreement.  In 2014, that team’s advocacy led to the dismissal of all but one of the investor’s damages claims.

In welcoming Ms. Gore to the firm, Mr. Camp remarked, “After having my own law firm for the last 18 years focusing exclusively upon international dispute resolution, Kiran’s joining my firm as Counsel is nothing short of magnificent.”

The Law Offices of Charles H. Camp, P.C. draws on more than 35 years of legal expertise representing clients from around the World to solve complex international disputes through international litigation, arbitration and debt recovery.  Significantly, the Firm, whose creed is, “whoever has the best information wins,” is able to draw upon decades of experience working with top former intelligence officers from numerous international and domestic agencies to obtain highly confidential information essential not only to obtain, but also to collect, favorable judgments and arbitral awards.

Currently, among other significant international cases, the firm represents American economist Dr. Maya Dangelas, Chairwoman of Tan Tao Energy Corporation, in a recently launched UNCITRAL arbitration against the former Prime Minister, Nguyen Tan Dung, of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam for investment and lost profit damages in excess of $2.5 billion.

Ms. Gore commented “I am thrilled to be partnering with Mr. Camp.  He is a consistent and successful advocate for his clients,’ interests, with an interdisciplinary approach that combines legal expertise with creative problem-solving.  Our approaches to legal practice have natural synergy and I look forward to making his Firm the home for my practice.”

Ms. Gore earned her B.A. magna cum laude from New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Studies and her J.D. from Brooklyn Law School.  Outside of legal practice, she is involved in teaching, academic, and scholarly activities.  She is an adjunct professor at The George Washington University Law School and New York University’s Global Study Center in Washington, D.C.  She is also an associate editor of the Kluwer Arbitration Blog and an associate editor of the ICSID Review – Foreign Investment Law Journal.

For more information, please contact Mr. Camp or Ms. Gore at The Law Offices of Charles H. Camp, P.C. by telephone (+1 202-457-7786) or email ([email protected]  or [email protected]).

2012 News

On behalf of judgment creditors Debbie and Max Walters, the firm obtained an order from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia requiring The People’s Republic of China to appear before the court for a judgment debtor examination and to produce documents pertaining to all of its commercial assets in the United States.

Mr. Camp was named chairman of the Governance and Nominating Committee of Meridian International Center based in Washington, D.C.

2011 News

The firm was engaged by a South African entity to pursue significant claims against several multinational oil companies over a project in Africa.

The firm was engaged by judgment creditors Cortez Byrd and Simmons Lumber Company, S.A. to enforce a $200,000,000+ judgment against various individuals and the government of Honduras.

The firm was engaged by judgment creditor Winmar, Inc. to collect a $2,000,000+ judgment against Al Jazeera International.

2010 News

On May 13, 2010, George Washington University Law School honored Mr. Camp for serving as an adjunct professor for five years, where he’s taught International Negotiations.

His students made the following comments in their evaluations of him:

Hands down the best class I’ve taken in law school…. A great asset for any students interested in international law, finance or relations…. Prof. Camp is an experienced negotiator with tons of real-world experience and insight.

This class was fantastic. I have never had so much fun learning so much. It was one of the most useful and enjoyable classes I have ever taken. Professor Camp is a great resource and runs an excellent class.

At the 2010 Annual Meeting of the Washington Foreign Law Society, Mr. Camp, who served as president in 2006, was elected president for 2011. According to the WFLS website, “The Washington Foreign Law Society, founded in 1952, promotes knowledge and understanding of international legal matters, comparative legal issues, and foreign law. It is a non-profit, tax-exempt, educational organization located in the District of Columbia. The Washington Foreign Law Society serves as a forum for the intersection of legal and non-legal professionals serving in public and private capacities to the many US Government agencies, foreign missions, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, and national and global professional firms with a Washington presence. The Society encourages discussion and opportunity among its members to advance understanding of foreign law as well as its relationship to a host of non-legal areas affecting both public and private sector matters today.”

2009 News

At the 2009 Annual Meeting of Meridian International Center, Mr. Camp, following in the footsteps of his late father, John C. Camp, was elected to the Meridian Board of Trustees. Meridian is the self-proclaimed “leading manager of the U.S. State Department’s premier professional exchange operation, the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), and creates custom programs for other U.S. government agencies, and public and private sector organizations. Participants share information and seek areas of agreement, which serve as catalysts for solving challenges shared between U.S. and international leaders.”

On September 15, 2009, on behalf of Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait KSC, Mr. Camp, through his local counsel, filed a complaint seeking $125,000,000 and alleging fraud and breach of contract against Maan Abdulwahed A. Al Sanea and Saad Trading, Contracting & Financial Services Co. in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York.

On July 6, 2009, on behalf of approximately 1,000 Taiwanese, Mr. Camp filed a petition for a writ of certiorari in the United States Supreme Court in the case entitled Dr. Roger C.S. Lin, et al. v. United States of America, No. 09-33. (Click here to see the petition.) The main issue presented to the Supreme Court was as follows: “Whether the Political Question Doctrine can validly bar a federal court from interpreting the San Francisco Peace Treaty (SFPT) to determine if the United States’ designation in the SFPT as the ‘principal occupying power’ over ‘Formosa and the Pescadores’ (now called Taiwan) means that the United States has de jure sovereignty over Taiwan and, if so, whether petitioners have certain fundamental rights under the Constitution.” Unfortunately, on October 5, 2009, the Supreme Court denied certiorari.

At the 2009 Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law (ASIL), Mr. Camp was appointed chairman of the first Audit Committee of the American Society of International Law, also making Mr. Camp an ex-officio member of the Executive Council and Executive Committee. The ASIL describes itself as “a nonprofit, nonpartisan, educational membership organization founded in 1906 and chartered by Congress in 1950. ASIL holds Category II Consultative Status to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations and is a constituent society of the American Council of Learned Societies. The Society is headquartered at Tillar House in Washington, D.C. The 4,000 Society members from nearly 100 nations include attorneys, academics, corporate counsel, judges, representatives of governments and nongovernmental organizations, international civil servants, students and others interested in international law.” Mr. Camp also has been appointed to the ASIL 2010 Program Committee, which annually organizes one of the largest international law conferences in the world. The 2010 ASIL Annual Meeting was held March 24 – 27, 2010, at the Ritz-Carlton in Washington, D.C.

2008 News

On October 1, 2008, Mr. Camp, on behalf of his client Laura Murray, filed an amended complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against Gary Mulgrew and The Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC. The amended complaint added two RICO counts against Mr. Mulgrew. (Click here to see the First Amended Complaint.)

On September 5, 2008, Mr. Camp, on behalf of his client Laura Murray, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against Gary Mulgrew and The Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC.

2007 News

On November 7, 2007, Mr. Camp was elected president of Friends of the Law Library of Congress, a nonprofit organization formed in 1932 by a group of prominent attorneys and jurists and led by former U.S. Attorney General George Wickersham to encourage awareness and support of the Law Library of Congress, contribute to its collections and sponsor programs that promote a better understanding of law.

On May 1, 2007, the Washington Foreign Law Society held its Annual Gala Dinner in conjunction with the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C. At the dinner, Mr. Camp, the 50th president of the Society, presented former Secretary of State James A. Baker, III, with the Society’s highest award, the Harry LeRoy Jones Award for International Law. At the gala, Mr. Robert Neale Lyman and The Journal of International Law of the University of Virginia Law School were also awarded the Justice Robert H. Jackson Award for “Best Published Student Writing on a Foreign Law Subject.”

2006 News

On November 1, 2006, Mr. Camp argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in New York. The issue on appeal was whether the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York had the authority to order the Commercial Bank of Kuwait, S.A.K., over which the District Court has personal jurisdiction, to turn over judgment debtor funds held by the bank outside of the United States. Mr. Camp represented the appellant, Bruce E. Mones, in the appeal.

On October 24, 2006, Mr. Camp filed a Complaint for Declaratory Judgment in the U. S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The Complaint asked the court to declare whether the Taiwanese plaintiffs, including members of the Taiwan Nation Party, have certain rights under the U.S. Constitution.

On June 28, 2006, Mr. Camp was elected the 50th president of the Washington Foreign Law Society (WFLS). The WFLS, founded in 1952, promotes knowledge and understanding of international legal matters, comparative legal issues and foreign law. The WFLS serves as a forum for the intersection of legal and nonlegal professionals serving in public and private capacities to the many U.S. government agencies, foreign missions, nongovernmental organizations, academic institutions and national and global professional firms with a Washington presence. Since its founding, the society has been served by a large number of prominent lawyers, jurists and other legal professionals on its Board of Governors and has attracted an even larger number of distinguished lawyers, jurists and other legal professionals and public policymakers as sustaining members.

2004 News

On April 30, 2004, in Walker v. Mones (D.D.C.), Mr. Camp obtained an order from U.S. District Court Judge Emmet G. Sullivan denying the Mobile Telecommunications Company Motion for Preliminary Injunction, for Leave to File Complaint in Intervention and Request for Hearing. On April 30, 2004, Mr. Camp also obtained an Order from Judge Sullivan denying Judgment Debtor Hamzah M. Behbehani’s Motion to Vacate Order of Contempt and Arrest that Mr. Camp obtained September 10, 2003, against Mr. Behbehani and Sheikh Mishal Y.S. Al Sabah of Kuwait.

On April 22, 2004, in Mones v. National Bank of Kuwait (S.D.N.Y.), Mr. Camp obtained a formal Turnover Order from U.S. District Court Judge Leonard B. Sand ordering the National Bank of Kuwait to “forthwith pay over to Petitioner…all funds…being held in Kuwait as are necessary to fully satisfy” the Kuwaiti judgment debtors’ respective obligations to Mr. Mones. The National Bank of Kuwait was represented by Hogan & Hartson LLP.

On March 24, 2004, in Mones v. National Bank of Kuwait (S.D.N.Y.), Mr. Camp obtained a Memorandum and Order from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York holding that New York’s separate entity rule was “inapposite” in this post-judgment proceeding where Mones’ petition for a turnover order was served directly upon NBK in Kuwait, rather than upon the NBK New York branch.

2003 News

On December 23, 2003, in Mones v. Commercial Bank of Kuwait (S.D.N.Y.), Mr. Camp obtained an order requiring the Commercial Bank of Kuwait to turn over to Mr. Mones funds of certain judgment debtors held in Kuwait by C.B.K.

On September 10, 2003, in Walker v. Mones, 1:96CV02876 (D.D.C.), on behalf of his client, Mr. Mones, Mr. Camp obtained an Order of Contempt and Arrest directed against two judgment debtors. Under the Order issued by U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan, the two judgment debtors were ordered to pay Mr. Mones $4,000 per day until their prior obligations to Mr. Mones were fully satisfied.

On August 27, 2003, in AlAhli Bank of Kuwait (KSC) v. Rafidain Bank and Central Bank of Iraq, 96 Civ. 690 (S.D.N.Y.), Mr. Camp obtained for his client AlAhli Bank of Kuwait a Restraining Notice signed by U.S. District Judge J. Michael McMahon, effectively freezing approximately $85,000,000 in Iraqi funds held by an offshore bank.

The May 22, 2003, edition of The Wall Street Journal Europe, “J.P. Morgan Seeks to Recover Old Claims Against Iraqi Banks” states:

Charles Camp, a Washington lawyer who specializes in international debt recovery, estimates that U.S. judgments against Iraqi organizations may total billions of dollars. Original debts have nearly doubled because of interest accumulated over more than a decade…. In four other cases during the 1990s brought to trial by Mr. Camp, U.S. courts upheld claims to $489 million in principal loaned to Iraqi banks. Mr. Camp said the principal and accrued interest now total $700 million. Most of the 19 institutions involved in the cases are based in France or the Gulf region. Three of the lawsuits included institutions claiming debts on their own behalf, including the National Bank of Kuwait and Gulf International Bank BSC, based in Bahrain. One involved a syndicated loan from the Banque Arabe et Internationale d’Investissement of France, which is now in administration. The bank led a syndicate that included French bank Lazard LLC and UBAF, an affiliate of Credit Lyonnais SA.

In the May 21, 2003, edition of Dow Jones International News, “Some Foreign Creditors Move to Force Iraq to Repay Debts” states:

Charles Camp, a Washington lawyer who specializes in international debt recovery, estimates that U.S. judgments against Iraqi organizations may total billions of dollars…because of interest accumulated over more than a decade…. In four other cases during the 1990s brought to trial by Camp, U.S. courts upheld claims to $489 million in principal loaned to Iraqi banks. Camp said the principal and accrued interest now total $700 million. Most of the 19 institutions involved in the cases are based in France or the Gulf. Three of the lawsuits included institutions claiming debts on their own behalf, including the National Bank of Kuwait and the Bahrain-based Gulf International Bank. One involved a syndicated loan from the Banque Arabe et Internationale d’Investissement of France…. The bank led a syndicate that includes France’s Lazard and UBAF, an affiliate of Credit Lyonnais SA…. Camp said one strategy to collect debts will involve locating and seizing hidden assets or accounts of Saddam Hussein’s regime. But that strategy could conflict with the hunt for Saddam Hussein’s loot by the U.S. government.