The tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration hearing the claims of Blue Gold Holdings Limited & Future Global Resources Limited v. The Republic of Ghana PCA CASE NO. 2025-21 has rejected the request of Ghana for a trifurcation of the arbitration proceedings.

Ghana filed its request for trifurcation on the On 27th day of February 2026. Ghana requested the Tribunal to separate the proceedings into up to three distinct phases addressing, respectively: (i) jurisdiction and admissibility objections; (ii) liability (if necessary); and (iii) quantum (if necessary). Blue Gold Ltd filed its response opposing the Respondent’s application on 13th March 2026.

A trifurcation of arbitration is procedural approach where an arbitration is split into three distinct, sequential phases rather than handling all issues at once. Usually , Jurisdiction/Preliminary Issues: The tribunal decides if it has the legal authority to hear the case, such as whether a valid arbitration agreement exists or if the claim is filed on time. Merits/Liability: If the tribunal has jurisdiction, it hears arguments on whether the respondent is liable for a breach of contract or treaty obligations. Quantum/Remedies: If liability is found, the final phase focuses on the amount of damages or the specific remedy (e.g., compensation or restitution) owed.

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The tribunal which delivered its decision on Ghana's application on 10th April, 2026 reasoned that "on the present record, it is not possible to clearly delineate the proposed phases in a manner that would avoid duplication of time, cost, and effort. In particular, the degree of overlap between the Objections and the factual matrix underlying the merits remains insufficiently clear. A more informed assessment may be possible at a later stage of the proceedings with the benefit of a better developed record, should the need arise."

Interim restraints not granted

The Arbitration body on the 19th day of March 2026, refused the Application of the claimants-mining firm seeking a temporary restraining order against Ghana. The Claimant sought orders from the tribunal to temporarily restrain Ghana from commencing any arbitration under the Bogoso Prestea Mining Leases until the Tribunal’s determination of a full application for interim measures. The Claimants also requested leave to file a full application for interim measures by 24th March 2026.

Per Procedural Order No. 2 of the Tribunal hearing the case, the Tribunal denied the requests of the Claimant mining firm reasoning that “such a step would have been justified only in conjunction with the grant of a temporary restraining order.” The Tribunal held the view that the application does not satisfy the requirements of Article 26(3) of the 2021 UNCITRAL Rules.

Background of the Arbitration

The arbitral proceedings were instituted on 2 April 2025 when the Blue Gold Holdings Limited (United Kingdom) and Future Global Resources Limited (United Kingdom) served on the Republic of Ghana a Notice of Arbitration pursuant to Article 10 of the Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the Republic of Ghana for the Promotion and Protection of Investments, signed on 22 March 1989.

The three-member Tribunal is composed of by Professor Dr. Klaus Michael Sachs as Presiding Arbitrator (a national of Germany), Dr. Raëd Fathallah (a national of Lebanon, Canada and France), who was appointed by the Claimants, and Professor Dr. Mohamed S. Abdel Wahab (a national of Egypt), who was appointed by Ghana.

Read/Download full release of the Permanent Court of Arbitration on the case below: