Luc et Luc Ltd v Société Lazuli 2020 SCJ 6
Luc et Luc Ltd (Appellant) – L
Societe Lazuli (Respondent) – SL
Facts
SL applied to the judge in chambers for an order to appoint an arbitrator. The application was made pursuant to Article 1005 of the Code de Procédure Civile in order to determine a dispute between L and SL. The learned judge granted the application and appointed a Senior Counsel, as arbitrator for the determination of the dispute between the parties. The appellant has appealed against the decision of the Judge in chambers.
Held
The court found no reason to interfere with the conclusive finding of the learned Judge which is amply borne out by the evidence. The judges considered that there is no merit in this appeal and dismissed it with costs.
Case Commentary
The case can be seen to promote the ideology of the non-interventionist approach used by the Courts in arbitral matters. That is, the Courts will only intervene in arbitral proceedings to cure certain defects that precludes the smooth running of the tribunal. Once the issue is resolved, the matters are referred back to the arbitral tribunal which in turn will settle the disputes under their own jurisdiction.
Intersection
Even though this case concerns a simple domestic arbitration based under the Code Civile Mauricien, it appears that the Mauritian Courts have adopted the same approach of non-intervention for both domestic and international arbitration.
Reference
Arbitration – Domestic Arbitration – Courts Jurisdiction – Non Interventionist Approach – Code Civil Mauricien
