MAURITIUS Law and Practice Contributed by: André Robert, Ammar Oozeer and Deephallee Harnaran, 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
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 can hear applications made under the IAA and the 2001 Act. International arbitration is governed by the IAA and the 2001 Act, which incorporates the 1958 Conven - tion on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the “New York Convention”). The IAA is founded on the UNCITRAL Model Law on Interna - tional 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 effective - 2. Governing Legislation 2.1 Governing Law ness of and support for international arbitration. • 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 common in the commercial landscape in Mauritius, especially in construction con - tracts, constitutions and shareholders’ agreements of global business companies and commercial contracts where the parties are not of the same nationality. Par - ties also choose Mauritius as a seat of arbitration in commercial contracts and construction disputes gov - erned by Mauritian law. 1.2 Key Industries Increasingly more real estate disputes are being resolved by way of arbitration in Mauritius. Construc - tion disputes remain a leading industry as contracts are based on standard forms that include arbitration clauses. By law, the constitutions of global business companies that include arbitration clauses must provide for Mauritius as the seat of arbitration. The increase in arbitration within the corporate and con - struction sector is continuous, and Mauritius remains a preferred neutral seat for cross-border disputes in the African region. 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 supported by reputable appointing bodies: the Per -
605 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook