MAURITIUS Law and Practice Contributed by: André Robert, Ammar Oozeer and Deephallee Harnaran, BLC Robert & Associates
money made payable by the award shall be brought into court or otherwise secured pending the determi - nation of the application (Section 39 (6) of the IAA). It is for the parties to select which, if any, of the provi - sions of the First Schedule they wish to opt into. In order to avoid any controversy as to whether parties have opted into the Schedule or any specific provision thereof, the IAA requires that the parties expressly refer to the First Schedule of the IAA or to the specific provision in question in their agreement (Section 3B of the IAA). As an exception, the provisions of the First Schedule apply mandatorily to any disputes arising out of the constitution of a Global Business Licence company, where there is an arbitration clause. The “opt in” options are: • the determination of a preliminary point of Mauri - tius law by the court; • appeals on questions of Mauritius law; • the consolidation of arbitral proceedings; and • joinder. Leave to appeal shall not be granted by the court unless it considers that, having regard to all circum - stances, the determination of the question of Mauri - tius law concerned could substantially affect the rights of one or more parties (Paragraph 2 (2), First Schedule of the IAA). 11.2 Excluding/Expanding the Scope of Appeal The IAA does not expressly authorise parties to waive any rights of challenge to an award by agreement before the dispute arises. The procedure and grounds for setting aside an award are mandatory provisions of the law. 11.3 Standard of Judicial Review Under Section 39 of the IAA (or an application for the recognition and enforcement of a foreign arbitral award under the 2001 Act), no review on the merits of the dispute is allowed before the courts, so that the arbitral award is truly final on the merits of the dispute, even if an arbitral tribunal may have com - mitted errors of fact and/or errors of law. Where the First Schedule to the IAA applies, the court may over -
turn the arbitral tribunal’s conclusions on a point of Mauritian law. Therefore, except in relation to interim measures granted by the arbitral tribunal in the form of an award pursuant to Section 21 of the IAA, an award shall be final and binding on the arbitral tribunal with respect to the matters determined therein (Section 36 (8) of the IAA).
12. Enforcement of an Award 12.1 New York Convention
Mauritius is a signatory to the New York Convention (without reservation), which has been given force of law in the Schedule to the 2001 Act. The New York Convention is applicable irrespective of reciprocity (Section 3A of the 2001 Act), allowing the enforce - ment of foreign arbitral awards rendered even in non- signatory states. 12.2 Enforcement Procedure As well as foreign arbitral awards, the IAA provides that the 2001 Act (which contains the New York Con - vention) “shall” apply to the recognition and enforce - ment of awards rendered under the IAA – ie, awards made in international arbitrations whose juridical seat is Mauritius (Section 40 of the IAA). Applications for the recognition and enforcement of arbitral award applications are governed by Rule 15 of the 2013 Rules, as follows. • An application is made by way of an arbitration claim and is initially made without notice to any respondent. • Written evidence in support of the enforcement claim should include the documents as set out in Article IV of the New York Convention (the duly authenticated original award or a duly certified copy and the original or a duly certified copy of the agreement). • The application should state the name and the usual or last known place of residence or busi - ness of the applicant or, if a body corporate, the registered address of the person against whom it wishes to enforce the award.
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