Appleby Successfully Enforces An English Judgment Before The Supreme Court Of Mauritius

Appleby successfully appeared for Dallah Albraka (Ireland) Ltd (Applicant) before the Supreme Court of Mauritius (Supreme Court) in the case of Dallah Albaraka (Ireland) Ltd v Pentasoft Technologies Limited and anor 2015 SCJ 168 (Dallah).

The case of Dallah concerned an application for the recognition and enforcement of an English judgment delivered on 13 July 2007 (English Judgment) in favour of the Applicant. The English Judgment was in the sum of USD$13.36m for damages plus GBP£47,512 as costs.

The Applicant brought proceedings before the Supreme Court by way of 'exequatur' based on Article 546 of the Mauritian Code of Civil Procedure. On 27 May 2015 the Supreme Court delivered judgment in favour of the Applicant (Mauritius Judgment) by which the English Judgment was made enforceable in Mauritius.

The Applicant is a company incorporated in the Isle of Man. It is the investment arm of the Dubai-based Dallah Albaraka Group, a prominent business enterprise in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East.

Commercial Impact of the Supreme Court Decision

The decision of the Supreme Court in Dallah augurs well for the future in four respects. The Dallah case not only dealt with the area of 'exequatur' but also provided clarity in respect of:

• Concurrent proceedings;
• The relevance of Mauritius as a jurisdiction where the Respondent is a foreign company;
• The significance of a party labelled as 'Co-Respondent'; and
• The status of law firms which are legal practitioners in their own right under the Mauritius Law Practitioners' Act.

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