Mid-East Sales Ltd v United Engineering And Trading Company (PVT) Ltd & Anor
2014
COMMERCIAL COURT
United Kingdom
CORAM
- MR JUSTICE BURTON
Areas of Law
- Contract Law
- Civil Procedure
- International Law
2014
COMMERCIAL COURT
United Kingdom
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
Mid-East Sales Ltd sued the Islamic Republic of Pakistan for breach of contract over nuclear plant supplies. The case involved challenges on jurisdiction, forum non conveniens, and validity of service. Despite IRP's application, the court retained the order against IRP, focusing on jurisdiction and breach of contract issues.
Judgment
Mr Justice Burton :
The Second Defendant, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (“IRP”) applied (inter alia) to set aside service or for a stay on grounds of forum non conveniens , in relation to a claim brought against it by the Claimant, Mid-East Sales Limited, a company incorporated in Liberia. The grounds relied upon were not of state immunity, because the claims arise out of a commercial transaction, into which IRP allegedly entered, but upon grounds of lack of jurisdiction, absence of arguable case and non-disclosure. Such is commonplace in respect of challenges in this Court by a Defendant on grounds of jurisdiction. But there is an unusual feature. The proceedings now challenged on grounds of jurisdiction were issued on 11 June 2007; the Order granting leave to serve out of the jurisdiction, by Gloster J, was made on 4 December 2007 (more than 6 years ago); proceedings were served, after considerable difficulty, on 15 January 2009 (more than 5 years ago); judgment was entered in default by my order of 14 January 2011 (more than 3 years ago); the default judgment was served, again after difficulty, on 3 September 2012 (1½ years ago) and the Defendant has issued (but only after the issue by the Claimant of third party debt applications to enforce the judgment) this application on 10 April 2013, together with an application for an extension of time to file a Part 11 application.
The context therefore is an application which Mr Alexander Layton QC, who appears for IRP together with Ms Mahnaz Malik, recognises is way outside the normal timescales for promptness in bringing an application to set aside a judgment, but he seeks to explain the earlier periods, emphasises that the last period is most relevant and relies on what he submits to be the strength of IRP’s case to set aside the judgment.
The history
Mr Rafiuddin on behalf of the Claimant negotiated in 1994-5 with Mr Ahmad Bhatti on behalf of one or other or both of the entities known as United Engineering & Trading Company (PVT) Limited (“UETC”), now the First Defendant, and Dr AQ Khan Research Laboratories (“KRL”), both involved in a Pakistan Government Research Laboratory conducting inter alia nuclear weapons’ development, which came under the control of the Strategic Plans Division (“SPD”), which is responsible for all aspects of Pakistan’s nuclear security or atomic energy, to supply and equip two power stations. Mr Rafiuddin’s case is that he made it clear to Mr Ahmad Bhatti of KRL th