Georgia’s government plans to spend GEL 50 million on hiring lawyers for international arbitration and legal disputes in 2027, according to the draft state budget submitted by the Finance Ministry to Parliament. The amount is GEL 5 million lower than the planned spending for 2026.
One of the major areas expected to require legal spending next year is the ongoing process in the US and France to suspend enforcement of the arbitration award in the dispute with ENKA, which Georgia lost. The government has hired international law firm White & Case for the case. Georgia has been ordered to pay more than $443 million, with interest accruing daily.
According to the Finance Ministry, the total potential claims in eight ongoing international arbitration cases against Georgia amount to approximately $4.8 billion. Of seven completed cases, four ended in Georgia’s favor, while in three cases the state was ordered to satisfy the claimants’ demands. Publicly known claims include:
- “Zaza Okuashvili v. Georgia” — $328.2 million;
- “TELCELL WIRELESS LLC and INTERNATIONAL TELCELL CELLULAR LLC v. Georgia” — $154 million.
Georgia has spent GEL 276 million on lawyers for international arbitration cases since 2020. The largest payments have been made to White & Case, which received GEL 192 million during this period. The government also paid GEL 43 million for the services of AARPI and GEL 25 million to hire Dechert.
