Legal Advisory Task Force
The Legal Advisory Task Force (LATF) was set up by the Energy Charter Secretariat in 2001 to assist in the drafting of balanced and legally coherent Model Agreements for cross-border oil and gas pipelines.
The LATF was meeting on a regular basis under the chairmanship of the General Counsel of the Secretariat. The members of the LATF provided their valuable work and input on a voluntary basis and, in addition, graciously hosted meetings at their offices.
The Model Agreements Project
The Charter Conference took positive note of the First Edition of the Model Agreements at its 13th meeting in December 2003 and asked the Secretariat and the LATF to update and review the Model Agreements. A Second Edition of the Model Agreements was presented at the 18th meeting of the Charter Conference in Istanbul, which concluded that
"The Conference:
- welcomes the work of the Secretariat, with the valuable assistance of the Legal Advisory Task Force, in updating the Energy Charter's Model Agreements on Cross-Border Pipelines,
- welcomes the Second Edition of the Model Agreements as a set of non-legally-binding guidelines for the negotiation of cross-border pipeline projects, it being understood that these models can be used on a voluntary basis, in whole or in part, by States and investors seeking to conclude agreements for cross-border oil or gas pipeline projects, and
- calls for any further comments to be made to the Secretariat without delay prior to the publication of the Second Edition of the Model Agreements, and for the Secretariat to facilitate their constant review and updating as appropriate through the Expert Group on Model Agreements."
The Second Edition of the Model Agreements is now available, please click here for more information.
In addition to finalising the Model Agreements project, the LATF was invited to assist in the development of model agreements specific to cross-border electricity projects, on the basis of the existing Model Agreements for hydrocarbons.
Members of the LATF
The members of the LATF are all senior lawyers from energy companies and internationally recognised law firms. The LATF brings together a wealth of experience and knowledge in the energy sector and provide a wide range of expertise in the various areas relevant to energy projects, including taxes, litigation, project finance and insurance. The members of the LATF have represented the interests of States, investors, upstream energy suppliers and financiers, thus ensuring a balanced approach to the Model Agreements project.
The 2008 version of the list of LATF members is available here.