A federal judge in New York had discretion to vacate a previously approved confirmation of a $57 million arbitration award against the government of Laos after the award was tossed out by a foreign court, an appeals court ruled.

The case, which involves a dispute between the government of Laos and a Thailand-based company over mining contracts, presented a novel issue for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit: how a court should approach a motion to vacate its own confirmation of an arbitration award after foreign courts with jurisdiction over the arbitration panel later sets aside the award.

According to the court's decision, in the early 1990s, the Thailand-based Thai-Lao Lignite Co. entered into agreements with the Laotian government to mine lignite in northern Laos.

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