Sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber v Sheikh Walkid Bin Ibrahim Al Ibrahim & Anor.
[2023] EWHC 719 (Comm)
Alexander Gorbachev v Andrey Grigoryevich Guriev
31 January 2024
[2024] EWHC 247 (Comm)
High Court
Two people can't come to the UK court because of sanctions. The judge agreed to hear them in Dubai instead, because their testimony is really important and using video link would make it harder to understand everything. It was a special case, and usually, this isn't how things are done.
Key Facts
- •Joint application by claimant and defendant to take defendant's and his son's evidence on commission at the DIFC court in Dubai.
- •Defendant and his son are designated persons under the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, preventing them from entering the UK.
- •Defendant is a foreign national sued in England against his will.
- •The case concerns a disputed oral declaration of trust with limited contemporaneous documentation.
- •Witnesses are Russian and may require translation.
- •Claimant actively supports the application.
- •Defendant's solicitors will pay for the judge's travel and accommodation, with invoices publicly available.
Legal Principles
Jurisdiction of the English court to appoint a trial judge as a special examiner to take evidence overseas.
Various cases including Peer International Corporation v Termidor Music Publishers Limited [2005] EWHC 1048, Energy Venture Partners Limited v Malabu Oil & Gas Limited [2013] EWHC 2118, Attorney General of Zambia v Meer Care & Desai [2006] EWCA Civ 390, and SKAT Litigation [2024] EWHC 19 (Comm).
Public policy considerations in relation to sanctions regulations and access to justice.
Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, Polanski v Conde Nast Publications Limited [2005] UKHL 10, Mints and others v. PJSC National Bank Trust and another [2023] EWCA Civ 1132.
Court's inherent power to manage its own procedures and case management.
CPR r.34.8, CPR r.34.13, CPR 3.1(d) and (m), Ross v Woodward [1894) 1 Ch 38.
Outcomes
Application granted. Evidence to be taken on commission in Dubai by the judge sitting as a special examiner.
Exceptional circumstances justify the sub-optimal solution of taking evidence overseas due to the language barrier, the nature of the claim relying heavily on oral evidence, the defendant's status as a foreign national sued against his will, and the claimant's support for the application.
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