MAURITIUS Law and Practice Contributed by: Deephallee Harnaran, André Robert and Ammar Oozeer, BLC Robert & Associates
BLC Robert & Associates 2nd Floor, The Axis 26 Bank Street Cybercity Ebene 72201 Mauritius
Tel: +230 403 2400 Fax: +230 403 2401 Email: chambers@blc.mu Web: www.blc.mu
1. General 1.1 Prevalence of Arbitration
supported by reputable appointing bodies: the Per - manent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in the case of MIAC and the MARC Court in the case of MARC. 1.4 National Courts Matters to be decided under the International Arbitra - tion Act 2008 (IAA) or the Convention for the Recogni - tion and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards Act 2001 (the “2001 Act”) are heard by “Designated Judg - es”, who are judges of the Supreme Court appointed in that capacity by the Honourable Chief Justice. The Designated Judges are the only ones who are able to hear applications made under the IAA and the 2001 Act. International arbitration is governed by the IAA and the 2001 Act, which incorporates the New York Conven - tion. The IAA is founded on the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration (“the Model Law”) and contains a specific provision that, inter alia, highlights the need to promote uniformity with the Model Law (Section 2B of the IAA). However, the IAA contains a few modifications, tailored to ensure better effectiveness of and support for international arbitration. 2. Governing Legislation 2.1 Governing Law • Arbitration Clause: Once a party contends that the dispute is subject to an arbitration clause, the par - ties are referred to arbitration unless the opposing party “shows, on a prima facie basis, that there is
International arbitration is now quite prevalent in the commercial landscape in Mauritius, especially in construction contracts, constitutions and sharehold - ers’ agreements of Global Business Companies and commercial contracts where the parties are not of the same nationality. Furthermore, parties are more readily choosing Mauritius in these sectors. 1.2 Key Industries More real estate disputes are being resolved by way of arbitration in Mauritius; however, construction dis - putes remain a leading industry because the contracts are based on standard forms that include arbitration clauses. By law, the constitutions of global business (offshore) companies that include arbitration clauses have to provide for Mauritius as the seat of arbitration. In commercial and construction contracts, parties often choose to allow their counterparties’ financial position to improve in order to maintain a business relationship and not destroy value in lengthy and cost - ly arbitrations. In some cases, they may even have accepted discounted payments instead of bearing arbitration costs. 1.3 Arbitration Institutions Both the Mauritius International Arbitration Centre (MIAC) and the Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry Arbitration Centre (MARC) are commonly used, as they both have modern hearing centres and rules adapted for international arbitration, and are
513 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook