BL-2025-000785 - [2025] EWHC 2470 (Ch)

For the reasons that I have given, it is appropriate to exercise this court’s power to make declarations, even though they have (and are intended to have) extraterritorial effect and interfere (and are intended to interfere) with the processes of a court in another jurisdiction. The courts of this jurisdiction – like the US courts – place an extremely high value on comity between courts of different jurisdictions. However, those considerations are comprehensively outweighed by the need to ensure that (i) the interests of this jurisdiction, (ii) the interests of the Parties, the Claimants, the First and Second Defendants and those of the wider Cape and Altrad groups and (iii) the interests of existing and future claimants under the Cape Scheme are protected.

The declarations at paragraphs 4 and 5 of the draft order really do no more than articulate the consequences of the Mann J Judgment and the Mann J Order. The proceedings before Mann J involved only CIHL and Cape Jersey, and only they have the benefits of the Mann J Order. It is appropriate, given their interests, that the benefits of the Mann J Order extend to the Claimants, and I can see no harm in these declarations being repeated in the case of CIHL and Cape Jersey.