MAURITIUS Law and Practice Contributed by: André Robert, Ammar Oozeer and Deephallee Harnaran, BLC Robert & Associates
agreement, or any need to protect confidential information. Only the announcement of the court’s decision would then be public. Section 42 (1C) of the IAA further provides that the Supreme Court can prohibit the publication of all infor - mation relating to the court proceedings, upon the application of one or all of the parties and where the interests of justice so require. In addition, Rule 12 of the 2013 Rules provides that any judgment of the Supreme Court can be edited before being published and that any evidence, court records and documents must be kept in the manner in which the Supreme Court directs. Section 34 (1) and (2) of the IAA provide that, unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the arbitral tribunal can make more than one award at different points in time in the arbitration proceedings on a specific issue or on claims or counterclaims submitted to it for deci - sion. The key legal requirements of an award include the following (Section 36 of the IAA): • it must be in writing and signed by the arbitrator or more than one arbitrator, or by the majority of arbitrators or the presiding arbitrator, provided that the reason for omitting any signature is stated; • it must state the reasons on which it is based, unless the parties have agreed otherwise; • it must state the date on which it was made and shall always be deemed to have been made at the juridical seat of the arbitration; and • after an award is made, a signed copy must be delivered to each party. 10.2 Types of Remedies Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the arbitral tribunal has the following powers. • It may make a declaration as to any matter to be determined in the proceedings. 10. The Award 10.1 Legal Requirements
• It may order the payment of a sum of money in any currency. • It has the same powers as a court in Mauritius to: (a) order a party to do or to refrain from doing anything; (b) order specific performance of a contract; and (c) order the rectification, setting-aside or cancel - lation of a deed or other document. • It 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 ruling of Pueblo Holdings Limited v Emirates Trading Agency LLC 2023 SCJ 223, in which the Supreme Court held that the limitation period prescribed for default judg - ments 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; and
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