AIC Ltd (Respondent) v Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (Appellant)

Case summary

Case ID

UKSC/2020/0206

Parties

Appellant(s)

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria

Respondent(s)

AIC Ltd

Issue

A. Whether the execution of the Court of Appeal’s judgment and order should be stayed pending the resolution of this application for permission to appeal and, if permission is granted, pending the appeal.B. In the proposed appeal: (i) What is the correct approach to an application to reconsider an order after it has been made, but before it has been sealed, (ii) Whether the Court of Appeal erred by interfering in the judge’s exercise of her discretion in relation to the jurisdiction to reconsider an order, and (iii) Whether FAAN, the applicant seeking reconsideration of the order, required relief from sanctions under the Civil Procedure Rules in circumstances where the relevant order only permitted AIC to apply for enforcement of the arbitral award rather than to enforce it straight away if FAAN failed to comply with the order.

Facts

AIC has held an arbitral award against FAAN for over USD 48 million since 2010. FAAN’s challenge to that award is pending before the Nigerian Supreme Court. AIC applied to the English courts for permission to enforce the award without notice to FAAN and obtained a preliminary order in its favour. On FAAN’s subsequent application, the judge set aside the preliminary order and adjourned AIC’s application to enforce the award on the condition that FAAN provide security for approximately USD 24 million by a certain date. When that deadline and further extended deadlines were not met, the judge made an order granting AIC permission to enforce the award. Before that order could be sealed and perfected, FAAN’s efforts to provide the security culminated in the issue of a bank guarantee and it applied to the judge for reconsideration of her order, which had not yet been sealed. The judge allowed FAAN’s application, rescinded AIC’s right to enforce the award and granted FAAN relief from sanctions. The Court of Appeal allowed AIC’s appeal and reinstated the order, allowing it to enforce the award.FAAN now seeks permission to appeal to the Supreme Court and requests a stay of the execution of the Court of Appeal’s order pending the disposal of this application and, if permission is granted, its appeal.

Date of issue

27 November 2020

Judgment appealed

Judgment details

Judgment date

15 June 2022

Neutral citation

[2022] UKSC 16

Judgment links

Judgment summary

15 June 2022

Appeal

Justices

Lord Hodge

Lord Briggs

Lord Sales

Lord Hamblen

Lord Leggatt

Hearing dates

Start date

1 March 2022

End date

1 March 2022

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