The ICSID said the state had infringed upon neither domestic nor international law, but had operated in harmony with both. As a result of the ruling, Telenor was forced to drop its Ft 30 billion claim against the state and pay the costs of the procedure.
Telenor appealed to the arbitration body in 2003 arguing that Hungary’s telecommunications market regulations were intentionally changed to put its Hungarian unit Pannon at a disadvantage for more than a decade. This depreciated the value of Telenor’s investments in Hungary, going against a bilateral agreement between Hungary and Norway on the protection of investments in either country, Telenor claimed.