Morocco fails to secure separate review in Emmerson arbitration

An international arbitration tribunal has rejected Morocco's request to have its jurisdictional objections examined separately in the investment dispute brought by British mining company Emmerson over the Khemisset potash project, according to an update by the company on Monday.

Emmerson said the tribunal's July 17 decision means Morocco's objections will be considered «at the same time as it analyses the merits of the case», after rejecting Rabat's application to bifurcate the proceedings.

The company said Morocco had filed the request in May, oral submissions were heard on June 19, and the tribunal has now ruled against the move. The timetable for the next stages of the arbitration, including the hearing on both jurisdiction and the merits, has yet to be confirmed.

Emmerson’s subsidiaries, Khemisset UK Ltd. and Potasse de Khemisset S.A. launched arbitration before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in April 2025. In the proceedings, they are seeking $1.215 billion, net of local taxes and including interest, alleging Morocco breached the UK-Morocco bilateral investment treaty through the «expropriation» of the Khemisset project and by failing to provide «fair and equitable treatment», «full protection and security», and by impairing the investment through discriminatory measures.