Agreement void since the day it was signed, agree lawyers: Azima

The Attorney General Azima Shakoor has said that the GMR agreement was void since the day it was signed. She also said that lawyers from the United Kingdom, Singapore and the Maldives have come to the same conclusion.

Speaking to the media at the President’s Office today, she said that lawyers have advised that the agreement does not comply with the law, in light of several factors such as the circumstances under which it was signed, the High Court ruling regarding the Airport Development Charge (ADC), the letters that have been sent to GMR from the government since January this year, and the events that have transpired after the signing of the agreement.

“This agreement was void since the day it was signed, even under the laws of the United Kingdom under which the agreement is governed, or the agreement cannot be upheld due to frustrations. This was agreed upon and advised by all lawyers [local and international] involved. Therefore it has been concluded that the agreement is void,” said Azima.

She said that upon the decision by the Cabinet, the Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) has now been informed to convey the news of the decision to GMR. GMR has been notified to vacate the airport within a period of seven days. She also said that according to the agreement, GMR will be required to remove any property within a period of 30 days.

Azima said that even though it has been predicted that an amount close to $500 million would have to be paid to GMR as means of compensation, the amount is now thought to be much less and that she now predicts the problem can be solved through arbitration and the government may not have to pay any amount at all.

“This decision was taken purely according to the law. So we tried to do this in a manner that is most advantageous and has minimum loss for the government. During the arbitration process we are trying to reduce the amount we have to pay as compensation. We can do that.”

Upon the nullification of the agreement the Maldives government has decided to present the case to arbitration in Singapore. Azima said that the government took its decision after considering a paper that was presented to the cabinet regarding the issue, following 9 months of study and research.