Dear Mesdames and Sirs, 

The Arbitral Tribunal refers to the Claimants’ letters of 25 September, 9 and 10 October and to Respondent's letter of 3 October 2013. 

The Arbitral Tribunal has taken note of Respondent’s schedule in the first half of 2013. It should be recalled that the hearing has been postponed various times (PO17 [sic] of 7 July 2012: Jul/Sep/Oct 2013; PO 15 of 20 November 2012: Oct/Nov 2013; PO17 of 8 February 2013: 18-30 November 2013; PO21 of 2 May 2013: calendar suspended). In order to ensure the progress of this arbitration, the majority of the Arbitral Tribunal has decided to hold the hearing as suggested, i.e., in the last two weeks of June 2014. The September dates appear not to be available to all members of the Tribunal. The Arbitral Tribunal reserves the possibility to provide for additional days of hearing if necessary or appropriate in view of future developments.