The London Property and Commercial Court, chaired by Judge Robin Knowles of the Commercial Courts of England and Wales, has refused to accept an application by Process & Industrial Development (P&ID) challenging the decision to suspend implementation of an $11,000 million fine. Judgment against Nigeria. .
In his ruling issued on Thursday, Knowles ruled that the arbitration award against Nigeria be annulled with immediate effect.
On 23 October, the judge stayed the enforcement of the award, upholding Nigeria’s claim that it had been obtained fraudulently and in breach of section 68 of the English Arbitration Act 1996.
Knowles said the contract was obtained fraudulently and that what happened in the case was against public policy. The judge found that P&ID paid bribes to Nigerian officials involved in drafting the Gas Supply and Processing Agreement (GSPA) in 2010.
It also concluded that P&ID was unlawfully in possession of privileged Nigerian legal documents during the arbitration hearings.
However, Knowles said he still has three options to choose from once the decision is made.
The options included the following: “(a) vacate the arbitration award, in whole or in part, (b) vacate the arbitration award in whole or in part, or (c) declare the arbitration award invalid. in whole or in part.”
Nigeria said the decision should be overturned, citing the common law principle that “fraud destroys everything.”
But Knowles said in a Dec. 8 statement that he had decided not to send the decision back to arbitration.
He absolutely crushed the prize.
However, P&ID has applied for leave to appeal the October decision.
Their lawyers argued that the judge did not apply a “causation” requirement that would have shown whether the arbitration award would have been issued had P&ID not paid bribes to government officials.
They also argued that the confidential documents found in P&ID’s possession had no impact on their arbitration victory.
However, in his ruling on Thursday, Knowles denied P&ID permission to appeal.
The latest development has effectively ended the case, as the company cannot apply to the Court of Appeal for permission.
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