EACJ Dismisses Alcon International Limited Dispute
Hon Justices of the East African Court of Justice.
The First Instance Division of the East African\r\nCourt of Justice dismissed a Matter filed by Alcon International Limited\r\n(Kenya) against Standard Chartered Bank Uganda Limited for not paying them for\r\nthe construction of Workers House in Kampala, Uganda.
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Alcon International Limited (K) went to court\r\nclaiming an award of $8,858,469, with interest and costs, which was made in\r\nfavor of Alcon International (Uganda) by an arbitrator and adopted by the High\r\nCourt of Uganda. The award arose from a contract between the Government of\r\nUganda and Alcon International Limited (K) who later sub-contracted Alcon\r\nInternational Limited (U) to finish the construction of the Workers House\r\nbuilding, leading to a dispute about which Alcon Company should be paid for the\r\nwork done.
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Court on 02/09/2013 said it could not give\r\nitself jurisdiction in a case outside its jurisdiction on the ground that it\r\nwould be for the convenience of the Parties and witnesses. Also Court found\r\nthat there was no merit in the reference before it hence dismissed it and\r\nordered that each party to bear their costs.
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EACJ First Instance Division had previously\r\ndismissed the case by Kenyan construction company, Alcon International (K)\r\nLimited, on grounds that the matter was improperly before the Court. However\r\nthe Appellate Division noted that the First Instance Division did not in its\r\nruling consider whether it had jurisdiction to entertain the matter, which was\r\na fundamental issue which the Court had to decide on.
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The Applicant brought the case to court under\r\narticle 29 (2) and Article 54 (2) (b) of the protocol on the establishment of\r\nthe East African Community Common Market of the on protection of Investors\r\nacross the border, emphasizing that the alleged sister construction company\r\nAlcon International Uganda does not exist.
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Also the Registrar on 03/09/2013 ruled on a\r\npreliminary objection raised by Counsel for the Respondent in a case for costs\r\nin an Appeal filed by Alcon International Limited (K) against The Standard\r\nChartered Bank and 2 others.
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The Appeal was allowed and they were awarded\r\ncosts to be taxed by the Registrar. The Registrar ruled that the court was not\r\nfunctus officio (a general rule that, a final decision of a court cannot be\r\nreopened) and that he did not make a final decision in this matter when it came\r\nup for taxation. The Registrar ordered that the matter proceeds for taxation\r\nand that the parties will be notified of the date.
Posted 4th, September 2013
