AG to request Supreme Court to declare Maldivian Courts

The Attorney General (AG) has announced the decision to file a case to the Supreme Court to declare that domestic Courts have jurisdiction over the GMR case, as the agreement between the government and GMR had been made under the laws of the UK.

The AG’s decision to file the case today came following a press statement released last night by Supreme Court.

Articles 21(4) and 22 of the agreement made with GMR stipulate that the agreement was made under the laws of the UK. It also states that any disputes must be settled by filing the cases to an arbitration court in Singapore, and the decisions made by this court are final and cannot be appealed. By agreeing to these terms, the government and Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) had given up these rights.

However the press statement by Supreme Court last night highlights that the stipulation in the arbitration clause of a contract that foreign Courts have the jurisdiction to settle disputes, does not obstruct the jurisdiction of domestic Courts to make decisions about the legitimacy of the contract or settle disputes that may arise between the two parties.

The High Court of Singapore has issued a temporary order, advising MACL not to continue any trial against GMR until the case pertaining to the Airport Development Charge (ADC) of $25 filed by GMR to Singapore’s Arbitration Court is completed; as doing so will result in the Agreement made between GMR and the Maldivian government becoming void.

This order has resulted in the case filed by MACL to Civil Court, requesting it to annul the letter by the former Chairman of MACL permitting the deduction of ADC from the concession fee, being halted.

Other agreements made by the government according to the laws of the UK and involving the arbitration court of Singapore include the Air Maldives Agreement, the waste management Agreement made with Tatwa Global and the Border Control System Agreement made with Nexbiz.