By 
(REPUBLIQUE DE DJIBOUTI) – The Republic of Djibouti welcomes the decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which on July 30, 2024, overturned the judgment issued on February 17, 2023, by a United States federal district court.
This particularly significant decision comes in the context of the dispute between the Republic of Djibouti and the Emirati operator DP World concerning the Doraleh Container Terminal. By upholding the law, the Court of Appeals validates the arguments long presented by the Republic of Djibouti.
The invalidated judgment had, against all legal logic, granted enforcement in the United States of an irregular award issued by the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA). The latter had ordered the Republic of Djibouti to pay an amount of 474 million dollars to the Doraleh Container Terminal (DCT) company based on an abusive request filed by DP World and its lawyers, who were not authorized to act on behalf of DCT.
The DCT company, whose shareholding is composed of 66.67% by the State of Djibouti and 33.33% by DP World, was placed under judicial administration by the Djibouti court, with a provisional administrator appointed in September 2019. Therefore, the provisional administrator was the only one authorized to act on behalf of the company.
Furthermore, the DCT company, the former concessionaire of the Doraleh Container Terminal, holds no port assets in the Republic of Djibouti following the termination of the concession in February 2018, when the management of the container terminal was entrusted to a new company named SGTD.
In the decision of July 30, 2024, rendered collectively by a majority of three judges of the federal appellate court, the judges agreed with the Republic of Djibouti’s argument that the law firm Quinn Emanuel, representing DP World, could not validly act on behalf of DCT. This was because the Djibouti courts had removed the corporate bodies of DCT, controlled by DP World, by appointing a provisional administrator for DCT.
The federal appellate court thus reiterated a fundamental legal principle requiring any judge to ensure that the lawyer representing a case before the court has a mandate from the client they intend to represent. This fundamental principle was ignored by the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) and the district court judge in the District of Columbia, who accepted a procedure filed by a law firm without a mandate from DCT, openly violating procedural rules.
This decision restores the Republic of Djibouti to its legitimate rights. It also undermines DP World’s strategy of manipulating the courts and the media against the Republic of Djibouti.
The government of the Republic of Djibouti reaffirms its position: only a direct agreement between the parties, which will guarantee common interests as well as the nation’s sovereignty over its strategic infrastructures, will resolve the commercial conflict with DP World.
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