Court of Appeal dismisses Standard Chartered Hong Kong appeal against IPTL

The appeal had been lodged by Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited and Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Berhad following the refusal by the Commercial Division of the High Court of Tanzania to register a foreign judgment issued by the High Court of Justice of England, Queen’s Bench Division (Commercial Court). The English court had ordered IPTL to pay about $168 million.

The High Court in Tanzania rejected the registration bid in Commercial Applications Nos. 67 and 75 of 2017, prompting the banks to move to the Court of Appeal.

In its decision, a panel of justices—M.C. Levira, L.E. Mgonja and G.J. Mdemu—found that the appeal was procedurally flawed and that the underlying claim had already been settled under a government sovereign guarantee.

According to a court order signed by the Deputy Registrar of the Court of Appeal, Mr W.A. Hamza, the judges agreed that the appeal suffered from procedural irregularities and could not stand.

IPTL, Pan Africa Power Solutions (T) Limited and VIP Engineering and Marketing Limited, who were cited as respondents, had raised three preliminary objections.

They argued that the appellants failed to serve the Memorandum of Appeal in breach of Rule 97(1) of the Court of Appeal Rules, filed the appeal out of time contrary to Rule 90(1), and pursued a claim that had already been settled.

The respondents further submitted that a decree issued by the High Court in Civil Case No. 90 of 2018 had rendered the court functus officio, leaving no basis for further litigation.

Welcoming the ruling, IPTL Executive Chairman Mr Harbinder Singh Sethi described the decision as just.

“We thank the Court of Appeal for upholding justice and dismissing the incompetent appeal,” he said.