MAURITIUS Law and Practice Contributed by: Deephallee Harnaran, André Robert and Ammar Oozeer, BLC Robert & Associates
(a) to order a party to do or to refrain from doing anything; (b) to order specific performance of a contract; and (c) to order the rectification, setting aside or can - cellation of a deed or other document; and • may award simple or compound interest for such period and at such rate as it considers meets the justice of the case. It is worth noting that the law or rules chosen by the parties as applicable to the substance of the dispute will determine any issue of limitation or prescription (Sections 32 and 41 of the IAA). However, for recognition and enforcement of an award under Section 4B of the 2001 Act, notwithstanding any other enactment, the limitation period under the laws of Mauritius is not applicable to the recognition and enforcement of an arbitration award under the New York Convention. This was confirmed in the recent ruling of Pueblo Holdings Limited v Emirates Trading Agency LLC 2023 SCJ 223 , in which the court held that the limitation period prescribed for default judgments under the Mauritian Civil Code of Procedure did not apply to arbitral awards under the IAA and the 2001 Act. 10.3 Recovering Interest and Legal Costs The award of costs depends on either the arbitration agreement of the parties or the rules applicable to the arbitration. Under the IAA, costs of the arbitration mean “the costs of the PCA in discharging its func - tions… the fees and expenses of the arbitral tribunal, the legal and other expenses of parties, and any other expenses related to the arbitration”. Section 33 (2) of the IAA provides that, unless agreed otherwise by the parties, the cost of arbitration shall be fixed and allocated by the arbitral tribunal in an award, applying the following general principles: • Costs should follow the event, except where it appears to the arbitral tribunal that this rule should not apply or not apply fully. • The successful party should recover a “reasonable amount reflecting the actual costs of the arbitra -
tion and not only a nominal amount”, and if the award does not allocate costs, “each party shall be responsible for their own costs and shall bear in equal share the costs” of the arbitration, fees and expenses of the arbitral tribunal and any other related expenses. The conduct of the parties is one of the factors con - sidered in awarding costs. 11. Review of an Award 11.1 Grounds for Appeal Whilst there is no general right of appeal against an award under the IAA, the following applies: • The First Schedule to the IAA provides for a right of appeal on any question of Mauritian law – parties can opt into the First Schedule, but its application is mandatory in arbitrations on the constitution of global business companies. • Section 39 of the IAA provides an exclusive recourse on limited grounds for the setting aside of an award made in an arbitration seated in Mauri - tius. Under Section 39 (2) of the IAA, an arbitral award may be set aside by the Supreme Court only where: • the party making the application furnishes proof that: (a) a party to the arbitration agreement was under some incapacity or the agreement is not valid under the law to which the parties have sub - jected it or, failing any indication thereon, under Mauritius law; (b) it was not given proper notice of the appoint - ment of an arbitrator or of the arbitral proceed - ings, or was otherwise unable to present its case; (c) the award deals with a dispute not contem - plated by, or not falling within the terms of, the submission to arbitration, or contains a decision on a matter beyond the scope of the submission to arbitration; or (d) the composition of the arbitral tribunal or the arbitral procedure was not in accordance with
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