Practice Overview

Ali Adamjee is a barrister specialising in international arbitration, commercial disputes, and public law. 

He is called to the Bars of England & Wales (2016) and Mauritius (2018).  He joined Chambers after completing his pupillage with Anwar Moollan SC and Thierry Koenig SA.

He is described in Chambers & Partners as having “great client skills, a strong work ethic and good knowledge of the law."

Ali has acted as counsel before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council and regularly appears in the Supreme Court of Mauritius and before international arbitral tribunals. Many of the cases in which he is instructed have a cross-jurisdictional element where he works closely with multi-jurisdictional legal teams. He is routinely instructed by leading City and US law firms. Ali’s areas of practice include international arbitration (incl. arbitration-related court applications), recognition and enforcement under the New York Convention, injunctive relief and asset disclosure orders, private international law, investment treaty arbitration, civil fraud, company law, insolvency law, and trusts law. He enjoys appellate advocacy.

As junior counsel to the Electoral Supervisory Commission for the past 7 years, Ali has substantial election law experience having acted in over 20 election petition cases before the Supreme Court of Mauritius including one appeal before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.

Prior to joining the Mauritian bar, Ali practised exclusively in international arbitration.  He was a member of the International Arbitration Groups of Clifford Chance LLP (London) and Shearman & Sterling LLP (Paris).  Ali also acquired institutional experience as a research assistant at the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) and the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague (PCA).

In parallel with his practice as counsel, Ali has a keen academic interest in the theory of international arbitration and private international law. He teaches private international law to LLM students at the Paris II Panthéon-Assas Law School in Mauritius.

Notable Cases

•             Fundo Soberano de Angola v. Dos Santos: acted for the Sovereign Wealth Fund of Angola in claims to recover USD 4 billion of assets alleged to have been fraudulently misappropriated. The largest international arbitration seated in Mauritius with complex ancillary applications for worldwide freezing and asset disclosure orders in Mauritius, England & Wales, Switzerland, and Angola. Led by Simon Salzedo KC and Anwar Moollan SC. Instructed by Norton Rose Fulbright LLP.

•             ArcelorMittal v. Essar Steel (Supreme Court): acted for ArcelorMittal in securing the recognition and enforcement of the largest international arbitral award in Mauritius (USD 1.5 billion) under the New York Convention and in a series of related court applications to prevent the dissipation of assets by Essar Steel.  Conducted advocacy and led by Anwar Moollan SC, instructed by Jenner & Block LLP and Mischon de Reya LLP.

•             Emtel v. Mauritius Telecom & ors [2024] UKPC 9 (Privy Council): acting for Emtel (the world’s first mobile telephone operator in the Southern hemisphere) in one longest running cases in Mauritius and one of the largest claims for damages for unfair competition and failed telecommunications regulations in Mauritius. Successfully represented Emtel in its appeal before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.  Led by Mark Brealey KC and Anwar Moollan SC, instructed by ENSafrica.

•             Dayal v. Jugnauth [2023] UKPC 37 (Privy Council): acted for the Electoral Supervisory Commission (ESC) in the appeal against the decision of the Supreme Court rejecting the electoral petition seeking to invalidate the election of the then sitting Prime Minister of Mauritius on the grounds of electoral bribery and treating. The Privy Council upheld the judgment of the Supreme Court.

•             ENL v. Independent Commission Against Corruption [2023] SCJ 190: acting for New Mauritius Hotels Ltd (the largest hotel group in Mauritius) before the Full Bench of the Supreme Court of Mauritius in this landmark case on the representation of legal companies and the jurisdiction of the Commercial Court.  Led by Anwar Moollan SC, instructed by ENSafrica.

•             SCF Holdings II v. Manhattan Coffee Investments Ltd (Supreme Court): acted for SCF Holdings II and secured the recognition and enforcement of an LCIA Award (MUR 1.5 billion) under the New York Convention. Currently advising SCF Holdings II in insolvency proceedings arising out of the enforcement and award-debt recovery measures. Instructed by Herbert Smith Freehills LLP.

•             Barak Fund v. Quantum Power Namibia & Innovent (Supreme Court): acted for Quantum Power and Innovent to successfully resist a freezing injunction. The first case to consider the Chabra jurisdiction in Mauritius. Instructed by Mishcon de Reya LLP.

•             Shallan Overseas Investments v. Fuel Transport Holdings (Supreme Court): acting for Shallan in an application to set aside permission to serve out of jurisdiction.  The first Mauritian case to consider the proper interpretation of the gateways to serve out of jurisdiction (based on Order 11 of the old English RSC) and the duty to make full and frank disclosure when seeking permission to serve out on a without notice basis.  Currently on appeal.  Conducted advocacy in the Court of Appeal (led by Anwar Moollan SC, instructed by Milbank LLP).

•             Inside Capital Partners v. Sadar (Supreme Court): lead counsel resisting an application for a freezing injunction and asset disclosure orders in support of enforcement proceedings under the Mauritius International Arbitration Act.  Acted as lead counsel in the underlying PCA administered arbitration.

•             Pueblo Holdings v. Emirates Trading (Supreme Court): assisted Anwar Moollan SC with garnishee proceedings arising out the enforcement of an international arbitral award in Mauritius.

•             Alliance Building v. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Port Louis (Supreme Court): acted for Alliance in arguing the first case to recognise the negative effect of compétence-compétence in domestic arbitration law: at arbitrator appointment stage the Court will only conduct a prima facie review of the arbitration agreement. Conducted advocacy.

•             The MV Tampen (Supreme Court): acted as lead counsel to lift an attachment order (saisie conservatoire) made against a ship docked in the Port Louis harbour.

•             Prior to joining the Mauritian bar, Ali assisted and worked on high profile investor-state and commercial arbitration cases at Clifford Chance LLP (London) and Shearman & Sterling LLP (Paris) (now A&O Shearman LLP).

Academic Projects and Publications

•             Contributor to J. Machell KC (ed), Whittaker & Machell on the Law of Limited Liability Partnerships (6th edn Bloomsbury 2026) (forthcoming)

•             Assisted Salim Moollan KC with the research and drafting of the third edition of Mustill & Boyd on Commercial and Investor State Arbitration (3rd edn LexisNexis 2024)

•             Contributor, UNCITRAL Model Law Digest of Cases (forthcoming)

•             Co-authored (with Raza Currimjee) Enforcement of Judgments in Mauritius: Trends and Developments (Chambers & Partners 2024 and 2025)

•             Assisted Salim Moollan KC with the 2022 Berthold Goldman Lecture: Dallah: A Tale of Two Cities (Paris, Cercle de l’Union Interalliée 2022) (Accessible here)

•             Country rapporteur for England & Wales and Mauritius for the newyorkconvention1958.org website: the leading open access database for New York Convention judgments (a project led by the UNCITRAL, Columbia Law School, and Gaillard Banifatemi Shelbaya Disputes)

•             Speaker at the PCA 125th Anniversary Conference: The Mauritius International Arbitration Act and the PCA – A 15 Year Retrospective (2025)

•             Speaker at the joint PCA-MIAC Conference: Jurisdictional Aspects of Controlling the Arbitral Award (2022)

•             Rapporteur of the late Professor Emmanuel Gaillard’s lecture on the positive effect of negative effect (Global Arbitration Review 2020)

•             Speaker at the ICCA Skills Training Workshop: Written Advocacy in International Arbitration (2019)

•             Assisted Audley Sheppard KC with the research and drafting of Concise International Arbitration: England & Wales (Kluwer 2015)

•             Assisted Marie Berard (of Clifford Chance LLP) with her paper on The Limits to the Parties’ Choice of Jurisdiction (ICC Bull. 2015)

•             Co-editor of Rethinking Arbitration Law and Practice in a New Arbitral Seat (PCA 2011) (a book comprising seminal papers presented at the inaugural Mauritius International Arbitration Conference in 2010)

Current Professional Position and Affiliations

•             Visiting Lecturer in Private International Law at Paris II Panthéon-Assas University (Mauritius)

•             Member of the Steering Committee of the Cambridge Forum on International Arbitration

•             Member of the Steering Committee of the Africa Energy Arbitrators’ Forum

•             Member of the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple

•             Member of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL)

•             Member of the American Society of International Law (ASIL)

Education

•             King’s College London

•             City, University London

•             International Academy for Arbitration Law, Paris

Languages

English (native); French (fluent); Gujarati (fluent spoken only); Hindi (conversational)