Local laws apply on foreign investors too: CJP

Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Monday observed that local laws were also applicable on foreign investors.
The CJP made the observation while hearing identical petitions against leasing out gold and copper mines, including the world’s biggest gold mine valued at over $260 billion at Reko Diq in Balochistan, to foreign companies by the federal government in violation of laid down rules.
He said it was mandatory to adhere to local laws in trade agreements, adding that every country had made it mandatory for foreigners to strictly follow their laws. A three-member Supreme Court bench comprised of Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Sh Azmat Saeed and headed by Chief Justice Chaudhry noted that whether a country was small or big, its sovereignty was important. The CJP said the Supreme Court neither wanted to block any foreign investment nor was it against it in any way, however, it required that foreign investments be subject to local laws. “We welcome every foreign company in Pakistan but its agreements must be subject to our laws and not to its own dictations. We are a sovereign country and welcome such investments,” the chief justice said.
Chief Justice Chaudhry further said one could find businessmen in Balochistan who had no businesses running in the province. The CJP asked Khalid Anwar, counsel for Tethyan Copper Company, how the Balochistan High Court could say that the company had vested rights. He observed that there could be no vested rights for any particular company, only those rights which were subjected to laws. “What matters for court is the law,” he added. He told the counsel that judgement of the licensing authority was not impugned before the court. Anwar contended that the BHC verdict was in his client’s favour which had two vital components. He said the verdict did not hold anywhere that the mineral wealth of the province was wasted and pleaded that the court could not settle the questions of facts. The counsel said the chief minister of Balochistan could not make a decision over the matter by terming it a policy issue. The CJP reminded him that the Chagi Hills Exploration Joint Venture Agreement (CHEJVA) was an agreement between the parties which was not statutory and what mattered were the rules.
He said the incumbent chief minister was not on the scene during 2006. The licensing authority did not mention anything in its order that it was provincial cabinet’s decision. To a query of Justice Azmat Saeed, the counsel said they had dispute with both federal and provincial governments. Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed observed that the mineral wealth of a country belonged to that very country.
An official of provincial government stood up and claimed that the company had calculated shares amount itself without informing the officials concerned. The court directed Anwar to conclude his arguments by Tuesday (today).