PCA Press Release: Commencement of Hearing on Jurisdiction in Doutremepuich v. Republic of Mauritius
The hearing on jurisdiction in the arbitration instituted by Professor Christian Doutremepuich and Antoine Doutremepuich against the Republic of Mauritius will be held from 12 June to 13 June 2019 at the seat of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (“PCA”), at the Peace Palace, The Hague, in the Netherlands.
The arbitration proceedings are being conducted pursuant to the Arbitration Rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law 1976 (the “UNCITRAL Rules”), the UNCITRAL Rules on Transparency in Treaty-based Investor-State Arbitration 2014 (the “UNCITRAL Transparency Rules”), and the Agreement between the French Government and the Government of the Republic of Mauritius on the protection of investments 1973 (the “Agreement”).
The hearing will address the objections to the Tribunal’s jurisdiction raised by the Republic of Mauritius.
Hearing Schedule
The hearing on jurisdiction will commence on Wednesday, 12 June 2019. The Tribunal has determined the following schedule for the hearing:
First round of oral argument: Wednesday, 12 June 2019
Introduction 09:00 to 9:15
Respondent’s Opening Statement 09:15 to 11:15
Break 11:15 to 11:30
Claimants’ Opening Statement 11:30 to 13:30
Break 13:30 to 15:00
Tribunal questions 15:00 to 16:00
Second round of oral argument: Thursday, 13 June 2019
Respondent’s Closing Statements 09:00 to 10:00
Break 10:00 to 10:30
Claimants’ Closing Statements 10:30 to 11:30
Tribunal further questions and closing of hearing 11:30 to 12:00
Live-streaming: click here
The Parties have agreed that the hearing be video recorded and transmitted to the public via YouTube. The webcast will be virtually live in order to allow the Tribunal to deal with any confidentiality or other objections under Article 6(2) of the UNCITRAL Transparency Rules, if any. A direct link to the webcast will be available on the website of the PCA on 12 and 13 June 2019 at the following address: www.pca-cpa.org. The webcast will subsequently be made available on the PCA’s website.
Background of the Dispute
By Request for Arbitration dated 30 March 2018, Professor Christian Doutremepuich and Antoine Doutremepuich instituted arbitral proceedings against the Republic of Mauritius pursuant to the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules and the Agreement.
The Tribunal is composed of Professor Maxi Scherer (Presiding Arbitrator), Professor Olivier Caprasse and Professor Jan Paulsson.
Further information about the proceedings as well as the Parties’ submissions are available on the UNCITRAL Transparency Registry (https://www.uncitral.org/transparency-registry/registry/data/mus/doutremepuich_v_mauritius.html) and on the PCA Case Repository (https://pca-cpa.org/en/cases/169/). Procedural orders and decisions of the Tribunal will be made public after they have been notified to the Parties. Further, any award of the Tribunal will be made public unless the Parties object.