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England’s High Court on Monday dismissed Sierra Leone’s challenge of a 2020 International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) decision over claims by SL Mining after a dispute over its iron ore mining operations in the country.
Formal arbitration proceedings have yet to begin as Sierra Leone had sought to challenge the ICC’s jurisdiction.
SL Mining, a subsidiary of U.S. commodity trader Gerald Group, filed for arbitration in August 2019 and suspended its Marampa mine the following month, after a dispute with Sierra Leone’s government.
Monday’s judgment “conclusively” dismissed Sierra Leone’s challenge and upheld the Partial Award
Sierra Leone cancelled the company’s mining licence in October 2019. The government said the company breached its contractual obligations. SL Mining denied the accusation.
Sierra Leone challenged the ICC’s jurisdiction, arguing SL Mining should have waited three months from the July 14 2019 notice of dispute before commencing arbitration proceedings.
But the ICC arbitrators last year issued a partial final award concluding they had jurisdiction with regards to SL Mining’s claims.
Monday’s judgment “conclusively” dismissed Sierra Leone’s challenge and upheld the Partial Award, SL Mining said in a statement.
High Court Judge Michael Burton agreed with the arbitrators, saying the three-month period is set out for the two parties to have time to reach a settlement, but that the full period need not have elapsed before arbitration begins.
“As I put it in argument, it seemed to me clear that as at 30 August there was not a cat’s chance in hell of an amicable settlement by 14 October,” Burton said in the judgment.
In a release after the judgment, SL Mining said Sierra Leone has agreed to pay the company’s costs and will not appeal the judgment.
“The government has not lost the matter, we have just lost a jurisdictional issue, but the substantive matter remains,” said Sierra Leone’s Mines Minister Timothy Kabba.
“We still remain optimistic … It’s a process, we are committed to the process.”
Kabba said the arbitration proceedings will begin next month.
(By Helen Reid; Editing by David Evans)
3 Comments
Justin Kenneh
Why should we continue with this matter? Having Lost the initial case, which I believe, would have been a stepping stone for us, as a nation! It would be better to withdraw the matter, out of Court, inorder not inccurre further costs. That’s my kind submission on this Noble matter. From Justin Kenneh, Freetown, Waterloo.
Aramide O
Hmmmm,
Sierra Leone. Are you selling out your people?
What obligations did SL Mining fail to fulfil? Have transactions being made under the table?
Africa, Africa, how long will you continue to be raped and the caretakers will look away because they have been ‘settled’ ?
How long will this pseudo-colonialism continue?
Hmmmm, till we are pushed to the wall… COLONIAL MASTERS… (Yes, because you still are) then you wonder why immigrants keep flocking to your countries…. Expect more… and more and more of us, because you rape our land and our leaders betray us and yield to your hypocritical corruption.
Have no doubt, more of us are on our way. And we will take over. You think Obama as president or Riz Khan as mayor is a fluke? … Hahaha…. hahaha…. ?????
Yes, I laugh and I cry, but not from joy…
As we always say in Africa, God help us.
Robert kobe
Sierra leone government is fraud.