Piercing The Corporate Veil Of State-Owned Enterprises

  I.      Introduction

The Olin v. Libya dispute centres on what once looked like a promising investment, a dairy and juice factory established in Libya’s capital, Tripoli during a window of economic openness in Libya. But all that was only temporary optimism. With an environment of mounting political instability, the Government of Libya in 2006 saw fit to expropriate this investment. This was the prelude to a lengthy and complex legal battle spanning years and jurisdictions.

One of the turning points of this dispute came with the decision from the Paris Court of Appeal of 19 June 2025. This landmark judgment applied the “alter ego” doctrine of France, whereby arbitral awards against States can be enforced by piercing the corporate veil of State-Owned Enterprises (“SOEs”). In this case, assets of Libyan National Oil Corporation (“NOC”) were the target before the French court.