Taiwan’s BES Engineering Corp. was awarded 2.36 million Kuwaiti Dinar (US$8.13 million) after winning a lengthy legal battle against Kuwait’s Ministry of Public Works, according to a press release by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs May 10.
According to a BES spokesperson, the firm secured a contract for a public construction project from the Kuwaiti agency in 1987. However, the construction work was halted following the outbreak of the Persian Gulf War in August 1990, with BES incurring serious losses in damaged equipment and machinery.
BES later tried to seek remedies from the MPW through a series of negotiations. With no settlement reached, the Taiwanese firm filed a lawsuit in Kuwait against the agency in April 1994 based on a special article in its contract.
After 16 years of prolonged litigation involving six appeals, the Kuwaiti Supreme Court rendered its final verdict Feb. 9, 2010 in favor of BES. The company confirmed that it received compensation May 7.
While MOFA and Taiwan’s representative office to the Middle East country were not in a position to participate in the legal proceedings, the ministry pointed out, throughout the litigation process MOFA has been in close contact with Maryam A. Marafi, BES’ legal representative in the case, to help ensure that the legal rights of BES are protected.
The BES victory marks the third time this month that an entity from Taiwan has prevailed in an international lawsuit seeking compensation.
On May 4 the International Chamber of Commerce’s International Court of Arbitration ordered French electronics and defense group Thales SA and the French state to pay Taiwan US$830 million in compensations over a 1991 Lafayette-class frigate sale.
On May 10, the Singaporean High Court ruled that the government of Taiwan could demand the return of US$29.8 million allegedly embezzled by two diplomatic brokers who promised to help establish ties between Taiwan and Papua New Guinea.
“The MOFA would like to extend its gratitude to all parties involved for their assistance,” the statement read. (HZW)
Write to Meg Chang at meg.chang@mail.gio.gov.tw