Ex Parte Lakeside Litigation I LLC (Mauritius)

Facts

Customs and Tax Consultancy LLC (CTC) contracted with the Democratic Republic of Congo (the DRC) in June 2008 to help reform its customs service. The contract was governed by French law and provided for ICC arbitration seated in Paris. Its arbitration clause stated that the parties would comply with any award and that the State expressly waived any immunity of any kind whatsoever. ICC awards made in 2015 and 2016 held the DRC in breach and ordered it to pay more than US$96 million. With interest, the debt now exceeds US$335 million. The Cour d'Appel de Paris dismissed the DRC's challenge to the first award and its addendum. The appellant took an assignment of the awards in 2020. It believed that two DRC mining companies, Kamoto and Mutanda, held accounts with Standard Bank (Mauritius) Ltd from which mining royalties were paid to the DRC. In August 2023 it applied ex parte to the Supreme Court of Mauritius for a freezing order and, separately, for an attachment (saisie-arrêt). Two Judges in Chambers set both applications aside. The freezing application failed on grounds of state immunity. The attachment application failed because leave for service on absent defendants and initial process by plaint with summons were said to be required, and because an earlier application had been withdrawn. The Court of Civil Appeal refused ex parte relief on the renewed applications and gave no reasons. The appellant obtained special leave from the Board, and later final leave, to appeal to the Privy Council.