Catherine Sasman
29 November 2011
THE Swissbourgh Diamond Mines and Josias van Zyl sent a notice of arbitration to the Lesotho Attorney General that it would take a longstanding dispute to an international arbitrator after the suspension of the SADC Tribunal.
Swissbourgh is suing the Lesotho government for expropriating diamond mining leases without compensation, and maintained that it did not get justice in Lesotho’s courts.
It claims damages not less than N$565 786 874 plus two per cent interest from April 1, 2010, and a further N$160 million for moral damages.
It further claims costs associated with its efforts to prevent the Lesotho government’s alleged breach of its obligations under the SADC Tribunal and the SADC Protocol, as well as other legal costs.
Swissbourgh has lodged an application with the SADC Tribunal to challenge judgements by Lesotho’s courts, and since the suspension of the Tribunal, it now wants legal recourse from the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes, or an international arbitrator, or an ad hoc arbitral tribunal under the rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law.
The company said if the Lesotho government fails to agree to the referral of the dispute to one of these bodies within the next three months, it will submit the dispute to the UN commission.
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Southern Africa: Swissbourgh Still Seeks Region Justice