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The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and OPEC Fund suffered another defeat in court when the Court of Appeal refused to grant an application for stay of proceedings it brought before the court against an interlocutory decision of an Accra High Court in a case brought against it by Quantum Oil Terminals.

Presided over by a three-member panel, the court observed that they found no special circumstances for which the application ought to be granted, and awarded a cost of GH¢2,000 against IFC and OPEC.

With this development, the two institutions have up to eight days to open their defence in the High Court. Lawyer for Quantum Oil Terminals has indicated that should they refuse to do so, Quantum Oil will go for a judgement in default.

Earlier, the lawyer for the applicants, Kofi Konadu, argued that there was a fundamental issue pending before the arbitrary tribunal and that proceedings in the High Court ought to have been stayed until the further determination of the case, hence the filing of their application.

He told the court the very nature of their application provides there is cost to stay proceeding in the High Court because the proper forum for the dispute between the parties was the arbitrary tribunal as agreed by the parties.

“The substance of our appeal is that the High Court ruling not to refer the case to arbitration was not fair and that if proceedings are allowed to continue and finally they are determined there will be no proceedings to be stayed.”

He pleaded with the court to order the High Court to reverse its decision and stay proceedings till the matter before arbitration was determined.

But the presiding judge of the panel, Justice Gyaesayor, said that was not the first time the applicant was bringing such an application before the court, and believes that the matter before the High Court can be properly heard under the jurisdiction of Ghana by the High Court judge.

A panel member, Justice Amadu Tanko advised counsel for the applicants to read through their application since all the grounds of their appeal will not stand the test of time because they were just stories or narratives.

Lawyer for Quantum Oil Terminals opposed the application, saying that the substance of the applications was recycled and contains the same arguments similar applications that have been thrown out had.

He said the new application has not to disclose any exceptional or immense circumstance for which stay of proceeding ought to be granted.

On August 23, 2017, an Accra High Court threw out an application by International Finance Corporation (IFC) and OPEC Fund to quash an earlier ruling made by the court which had directed the two institutions to open their defence in a case brought against them by Quantum Oil Terminals.

The two institutions filed the application at the Commercial Division of the Accra High Court that the court’s earlier decision, which was made on June 30, 2017, must not stand. They argued that the case brought against them by Quantum Oil lacked merit.

By the ruling made by Justice Mrs Doreen Boakye Agyei at the time, the two institutions had up to 14 days to open their defence, but filed an appeal at the Appeals Court for stay of proceedings of the substantive matter.

Similarly, the Commercial Division of the Accra High Court on June 30 also dismissed an application by the two institutions to stay proceedings for the substantive matter to be referred to arbitration in London.

The court, presided over by Justice Samuel Asiedu, awarded a cost of GH¢12,000 against IFC and OPEC Fund to be paid to Quantum Oil.