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Africard v. Niger, Petition to Confirm Foreign Arbitration Award and to Enter Judgment, February 4, 2016

4 Feb 2016
Africard Co Ltd. v. State of Niger, CCJA Case No. 003/2013/ARB
View case details
Petition to Confirm Foreign Arbitration Award and to Enter Judgment
Document Details:
LISTED PARTICIPANTS
Petition to Confirm Foreign Arbitration Award and to Enter Judgment
Participants listed are for this document only and may not include all participants involved in the entire case. Always consult the original documents.
Claimant appointee
Respondent appointee
Tribunal/Panel chair
Arbitrator(s)
Sole Arbitrator
ICSID Annulment Committee president
ICSID Annulment Committee members
WTO Appellate Body members
WTO Appellate Body chair
Judges
Claimant's counsel
Christopher D. Man, Mark D. Beckett,  Christian Urrutia
Claimant's law firm
Respondent's counsel
Respondent's law firm
Other counsel
Claimant's expert
Claimant's expert firm
Respondent's expert
Respondent's expert firm
Claimant's witness
Respondent's witness
Other witnesses
Tribunal secretary
Tribunal assistant
Third-party funder
Entities
Niger, Chadbourne & Parke, Africard Co Ltd.
Country
United States
Print reporter
Document Summary
Petition to Confirm Foreign Arbitration Award and to Enter Judgment
This summary note is machine-generated. Always consult the original materials.

Procedural Posture

This document is a Petition to Confirm Foreign Arbitration Award and to Enter Judgment filed by Africard Co. Ltd. against the Republic of Niger in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The Petitioner seeks enforcement of a final arbitral award rendered on December 6, 2014, by a tribunal constituted under the auspices of the OHADA Common Court of Justice and Arbitration (CCJA) in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. The enforcement action is brought pursuant to the Federal Arbitration Act (9 U.S.C. § 207) and the New York Convention.

Jurisdictional Basis and Legal Arguments

The Petitioner asserts that the District Court possesses subject matter jurisdiction under 9 U.S.C. § 203 and 28 U.S.C. § 1330(a). Crucially, the Petitioner argues that Niger is precluded from asserting sovereign immunity under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA), specifically relying on the arbitration exception codified at 28 U.S.C. § 1605(a)(6), as the underlying award is governed by the New York Convention. The petition further outlines the statutory basis for personal jurisdiction and proper venue within the District of Columbia.

Relief Sought

The Petitioner requests that the Court confirm the CCJA final award, which granted compensation for costs incurred, lost profits, and reputational harm arising from Niger's unilateral termination of a biometric passport production contract. Additionally, the Petitioner seeks the entry of judgment converting the awarded West African CFA Francs into United States dollars, alongside the application of a 13% annual interest rate as stipulated in the arbitral award, and the recovery of legal expenses and arbitration costs.