Mauritius: WHY MAURITIUS? A National Court In Support Of International Arbitration

Avant Propos

These short notes have no academic pretentions. They do nothing more than narrate – "report" would be too pompous a word – some of the judgments of the Supreme Court of Mauritius in matters of international arbitration since the promulgation of the International Arbitration Act in 2009. They provide some background to the cases under examination and add certain comments to facilitate and ease the reading.

These notes are rather an expression of celebration. They are the brainwave of three young barristers of the Firm. They conceived, designed and wrote those notes. It is a testimony to the hopes and faith that our young barristers in Mauritius have in this new discipline of law which is opening up in their starting professional career. Our Mauritius Bar is teeming with such youthful energy and our Young Bar is growing up to see the world in a grain of sand.

These notes also celebrate the incredible pragmatism and sagacity of our Mauritian Judiciary. The judgments recounted here demonstrate their immediate embrace of arbitration as an effective mechanism for dispute resolution and their unreserved support to international arbitration. Over two centuries, Mauritian judges have been grappling with a mixed system of law on an island that takes such a Promethean task for granted. From the faltering notes of Trikona¹ to the maturity and poise of Cruz City² these short notes show the road along international arbitration that the Mauritian Judiciary has travelled over such a short time.

Alongside it, the Mauritian legal profession.

Lastly these notes celebrate the merger of BLC Chambers with Etude Robert. The merger brings together one of the oldest and most respected legal practices on the Island, and one of the most innovative set of commercial lawyers, giving to the combined team an enormous litigation capability and depth. Etude Robert was founded in 1857 and bears the mark of four generations of incontestably distinguished attorneys. It brings a tradition of excellence to the table. BLC has been the first to assert that the business community deserves specialist commercial lawyers and that proper legal services cannot be delivered in the area of commercial law without a solid organisation structure ensuring continuity and sustainability.

As the legal profession takes benefit from the 2008 amendment to the Law Practitioners Act allowing legal services to move into corporate legal structures, the international community of arbitration lawyers will find the quality support they require in Mauritius to conduct their arbitration cases in this emerging Arbitration Centre.

To read this Report in full, please click link: blcrobertassociates-spreadpages.pdf

Footnotes

1. Trikona Advisers Limited v Sachsenfords Asset Management GMBH [2011] SCJ 440A. See page 19

2. Cruz City 1 Mauritius Holdings v Unitech Limited & Anor [2014] SCJ 100. See page 87

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