In the first Judgment delivered by the 'Designated Judges' appointed under the International Arbitration Act 2008 (IAA) the Supreme Court of Mauritius (Supreme Court), amongst others, provided clarity on the meaning of 'public policy' in international arbitration.
In Cruz City 1 Mauritius Holdings v Unitech and anor 2014 SCJ 100, (Cruz City) an application was lodged before the Supreme Court under the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards 2001 (Mauritius Act 2001) to recognise and enforce two arbitral awards delivered by the London Court of International Arbitration on 6 July 2012 (Awards) in favour of Cruz City 1 Mauritius Holdings, a special purpose vehicle incorporated under Mauritian law.
The application was resisted by the Respondents on three grounds. First, the recognition and enforcement of the Awards breached certain terms of the Constitution of Mauritius (Constitution) which was the supreme law of the land. Secondly, to recognise and enforce the Awards would be contrary to public policy. Finally, the arbitrators went beyond their jurisdiction.
The objections were set aside and this provided an opportunity to the Supreme Court to expatiate not only on its position vis-à-vis the relationship between the IAA, the Mauritius Act 2001 and the Constitution but also on the circumstances under which it would be prepared to set aside an application to recognise and/or enforce a foreign arbitral award.
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