Jeff Chapman QC represents Saudi Arabian company in a Commercial Court trial
Jeff Chapman QC represented a large Saudi Arabian company in a Commercial Court trial where the Court had to decide whether Sharia law in Saudi Arabia prevented anyone other than judges and public officials from taking bribes. Having heard expert evidence on Saudi law the Court decided that Sharia bribery rules applied to senior managers in a position to influence the choice of contractors and awarded damages in the amount of the bribes received by the defendant: Abdel Hadi Abdallah al Qahtani & Sons Beverage Industry Company v. Andrew Antliff [2010] EWHC 1735. The Court also allowed the Saudi company to claim interest under Section 35A Senior Courts Act 1981 notwithstanding that Sharia law prohibits any award of interest applying Maher v. Groupama Grand Est [2009] EWCA Civ 1191 (CA).