The Government approves arbitration in Montevideo for railway concessions

The National Executive Branch approved the arbitration clause with extension of jurisdiction and seat in the city of Montevideo, Oriental Republic of Uruguay, for the concession contracts of the General Belgrano, General San Martín, and General Urquiza lines. This was done through Decree 1216/2026 (DECTO-2026-1216-APN-PTE), signed on October 16, 2026, and published this October 19 in the First Section (Contracts) of the Official Gazette of the Argentine Republic. The measure is issued within the framework of the railway privatization process and applies to future disputes between the Ministry of Economy, as the grantor, and the companies that become concessionaires.

The regulatory framework of privatization

The decree is based on Law No. 27,132, which declared the reactivation of passenger and freight railways to be of national public interest, and on Article 7 of Law No. 27,742, which declared Belgrano Cargas y Logística Sociedad Anónima “subject to privatization.” Article 1 of Decree No. 67/2025 authorized the total privatization of that company through vertical disintegration, public auction of rolling stock, and public works concession contracts for the tracks, adjacent properties, and workshops.

Article 71 of Law No. 27,742 replaced Article 12 of Law No. 17,520 and established that concession contracts may provide for dispute resolution and arbitration mechanisms, with the obligation that the arbitration clause be expressly and non-delegably approved by the National Executive Branch and immediately reported to the Honorable Congress of the Nation.

The approved clause is part of the Model Concession Contract of the General Terms and Conditions (PLIEG-2026-79595975-APN-ST#MEC), approved by Article 3 of the Ministry of Economy Resolution No. 1350/2026, which in turn authorized the National and International Multi-Stage Public Tender No. 504/2-0004-LPU26. The case file is EX-2026-97602710-APN-DGDA#MEC.

The two requirements to reach the arbitral tribunal

Article 1 of the decree approves clause 32.3 of the contractual model, which sets conditions for submitting disputes to an arbitral tribunal seated in Montevideo:

• That the concessionaire, any of its shareholders with at least 10% of the voting capital, the persons who meet the financial or experience requirements, or any secured creditor, be incorporated or domiciled outside the Argentine Republic, or subject to the control of persons incorporated or domiciled abroad.
• That the dispute be of a non-quantifiable amount or exceed USD 500,000, unless, being lower, it can be accumulated with others already submitted to an arbitral tribunal constituted in that seat.

The recital maintains that an arbitral seat outside Argentine territory seeks to “guarantee maximum concurrence” in the selection process, promote the participation of foreign bidders, and expand access to international financing sources.

Immunity from execution: which assets remain protected

Article 2 clarifies that the approval does not imply any waiver by the Argentine Republic regarding the execution of a list of assets:

• Any asset, reserve, or account of the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic.
• Public domain assets located in Argentine territory, including those covered by articles 234 and 235 of the National Civil and Commercial Code.
• Assets located outside the country assigned to an essential public service or declared of public utility by law of the Congress.
• Funds and assets linked to the execution of the budget, within the scope of articles 165 to 170 of Law No. 11,672.
• Assets covered by the immunities of the Vienna Conventions of 1961 and 1963, including diplomatic and consular missions.
• Assets of a military nature or under the control of a military authority or defense agency.
• Cultural heritage assets, those protected by sovereign immunity laws, and those declared exempt from seizure or non-transferable by law, except with authorization from the Congress.

Validity and parliamentary procedure

Article 3 provides that the decree is effective from the day of its publication in the Official Gazette, that is, from this October 19, 2026. Article 4 orders that the Honorable Congress of the Nation be notified, in line with the mandate of article 12 of Law No. 17,520. The regulation bears the signatures of Javier Milei, Diego César Santilli, and Juan Bautista Mahiques (E/E), and the permanent legal service of the Ministry of Economy took the intervention of its competence.

The decree sets the rules of the game for any future dispute regarding the largest ongoing railway privatization: it enables million-dollar litigations between the State and the concessionaires to be resolved outside the country, but limits that access to operators with foreign capital or control and explicitly reserves public assets and the reserves of the Central Bank against eventual executions.

Source: Official Gazette of the Argentine Republic, October 19, 2026, First Section (Contracts) (official reference: Decree 1216/2026 — DECTO-2026-1216-APN-PTE).