Katherine Humphries

The appellant sought to enforce an ICC arbitral award against the State of Libya by garnishing its embassy bank accounts in Canada.

Libya moved to quash the garnishments, claiming diplomatic immunity, which the motion judge granted.

The appellant appealed, but Libya had a pending motion in the Superior Court to set aside the underlying recognition and enforcement order.

The Court of Appeal adjourned the appeal sine die on the basis of prematurity, finding that the pending motion could render the appeal moot.

The Court also continued a stay order freezing the bank accounts, finding a real risk that the funds would be removed if the stay was lifted.

The appellant, Friends of Lansdowne Inc., appealed the dismissal of its application to quash a City of Ottawa by-law approving a public-private partnership for the redevelopment of Lansdowne Park.

The appellant argued the by-law provided an illegal bonus to the developer, breached procurement rules, and was passed in bad faith.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding that the development plan, viewed as a whole, did not confer an obvious advantage or illegal bonus.

The Court also held that any breach of procurement policies was a technical irregularity that did not vitiate the by-law, and the appellant failed to establish bad faith by the City Council.