Cairn wins freeze on Indian assests in Paris

The story: The London-listed Cairn Energy PLC has won a judicial order in its favour for seizing Indian propeties in France. It has identified high-va

Cairn wins freeze on Indian assests in Paris

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• The story: The London-listed Cairn Energy PLC has won a judicial order in its favour for seizing Indian propeties in France. It has identified high-value assets of the Indian government in the US, the UK, Canada, Singapore, Mauritius, France, and the Netherlands for enforcing an arbitration award that went against India.
• Developments: Cairn has a favourable order from a French tribunal for seizing 20 properties - valued at 20 million euros - of the Indian government. The Union government will contest the French court order.

1. The Tribunal judiciaire de Paris ordered freezing (through judicial mortgages) residential real estate owned by the government in central Paris.
2. The firm said the court order affected some 20 centrally located properties belonging to the government and valued at more than 20 million euros, as part of a guarantee of the debt owed to Cairn Energy PLC.
3. One of the properties is believed to be India House, which houses Indian students.
4. Some experts said the government owned properties in France but these were not commercial government properties and would fall under the New York Convention, under which properties owned by foreign governments could not be seized.

• Legal aspects: French jurisdiction, however, allows ex-parte orders, which means that a decree can be given without hearing the other side. The Union ministry of finance said it did not receive any notice or order from any French court. The company sought a meeting with the finance minister to resolve the arbitration issue despite its hard stand and move to enforce the arbitration award.

1. The government filed an application on March 22, 2021, to set aside the December 2020 international arbitral award at The Hague Court of Appeal. India’s hearing of the appeal filed against the $1.2 billion award at The Hague is listed for September 24.
2. The company had in June filed a petition with the courts in the Southern District of New York, seeking judicial confirmation that Air India, the national carrier, could be classed as “the alter ego of the Indian state”, and thereby jointly liable for the arbitral award. Cairn registered the arbitration award in many jurisdictions, including the US, the UK, Canada, Singapore, Mauritius, France and the Netherlands. Action in France was the latest step in Cairn’s enforcement strategy of pursuing the government across multiple jurisdictions for its unpaid international arbitration award.

• Summary: Cairn Energy clarified it wanted an amicable settlement with the Indian government, and till that happened, it had to take all steps to protect its interests.

 

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