[2010]DLHC16004 • September 6, 2010 • High Court
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL vs. BALKAN ENERGY CO. LLC & 2 ORS
The Government of Ghana (Plaintiff) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the 1st Defendant regarding the operationalization of the Osagyefo Barge. Subsequently, the 2nd and 3rd Defendants executed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) dated 27 July 2007 with the Government. The Defendants failed to operationalize the barge within the agreed 90 days, leading to disputes. The 2nd Defendant initiated arbitration proceedings at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague on 23 December 2009. The Plaintiff contended that the PPA and arbitration agreement were international business transactions requiring Parliamentary approval under Article 1815 of the 1992 Constitution, which was not obtained, rendering the agreements null and void.
read moreRULING This ruling is two-fold. It is firstly in respect of an application by the Plaintiff herein for an order of interlocutory injunction for the following: a. To restrain the 2nd Defendant/Respondent from proceeding with or taking any further steps whatsoever in the arbitration proceedings instituted by it on 23rd December 2009 against the Government of Ghana in the Permanent Court of Arbitration, save to notify the Tribunal that it is enjoined by the order of this Court from taking any further steps in the arbitration proceedings, pending the final determination of this suit; b. To restrain the 2nd Defendant from taking any further steps in relation to or in connection with a decision made by the District Court of Amsterdam in the Netherlands on 26th February 2010 attaching assets of the Government of Ghana in Netherlands pending the final determination of this suit. c. To restrain the 2nd Defendant,its privies and agents from instituting or pursuing any other arbitration...