The Lahore High Court has upheld an international arbitration decision favouring US-based Metro Metals in a commercial dispute.
A two-member LHC bench, headed by Justice Ahmad Nadeem Arshad, rejected an intra-court appeal filed by Mughal Iron and Steel.
The court upheld the earlier decision enforcing the international arbitration forum’s ruling in favour of Metro Metals.
The 16-page judgment has also been described as a judicial precedent.
LHC Rejects Mughal Iron’s Objections
In its decision, the Lahore High Court rejected Mughal Iron’s argument that it had not received proper notice.
The court found that all relevant notices had been served according to law.
It also rejected the company’s argument concerning the agreement with Metro Metals.
According to the judgment, Mughal Iron could not deny the agreement’s existence after filing a civil suit connected with it.
The court further found no conflict between enforcement of the arbitration decision and Pakistan’s public policy or moral principles.
The judgment stated, “The basic purpose of the New York Convention and Act, 2011is to ensure compliance with global trade decisions and agreements as well as their implementation,”
Dispute Began Over Metal Supply
The dispute dates back to February 2020, when Mughal Iron entered into an agreement with US firm Metro Metals.
The agreement concerned the purchase of metals between the two companies.
However, a dispute later emerged after the alleged non-supply of the agreed goods.
The matter subsequently reached a US court and an international arbitration forum.
After considering the facts of the dispute, the arbitration forum ruled in favour of Metro Metals.
The US company then approached the Lahore High Court to seek enforcement of the arbitration decision under the relevant 2011 Act.
High Court Orders Enforcement of Arbitration Award
A single bench of the Lahore High Court had earlier rejected the objections raised by Mughal Iron.
The bench also ordered enforcement of the international arbitration decision by giving it the status of a decree.
Mughal Iron subsequently challenged that decision through an intra-court appeal.
The company argued that the arbitration decision could not be enforced in Pakistan without ratification by a US court.
The two-member bench, however, rejected the appeal and upheld the earlier enforcement order.
Court Upholds International Arbitration Decision
The latest judgment confirms the enforcement of the arbitration decision in favour of Metro Metals.
The court also rejected Mughal Iron’s objections concerning notice and the underlying agreement.
Furthermore, it found that enforcing the international arbitration decision did not conflict with Pakistan’s public policy or moral principles.
The ruling brings another stage of the long-running commercial dispute before the Lahore High Court to a close.
The case began with a 2020 metals agreement and later moved through US legal proceedings and international arbitration.
Metro Metals eventually secured an arbitration ruling in its favour before seeking enforcement in Pakistan.
Mughal Iron challenged that enforcement, but the Lahore High Court has now upheld the earlier decision.
The judgment therefore maintains the enforcement of the international arbitration ruling against the company in Pakistan.
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