On June 19, the Court of Cassation in Paris ruled in favor of the Port of Douala (PAD) in its ongoing dispute with the French conglomerate Bolloré over container terminal concessions. The court’s decision overturned a previous ruling by the Paris Chamber of Commerce, which had mandated the port to pay €58.6 million to Douala International Terminal (DIT), a Bolloré subsidiary at the time of the dispute, now owned by MSC Group.
This ruling marks a significant victory for the Port of Douala in the five-year legal battle initiated by DIT after it lost the contract renewal for managing the container terminal. Bolloré and its partner, APMT, had operated the terminal for 15 years and argued that the bidding process was unfair.
In early 2019, DIT sought arbitration with the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris, which, in November 2020, ruled in favor of DIT, ordering the Port of Douala to pay €58.6 million in damages. However, the French Court of Cassation recently overturned this decision, citing irregularities within the arbitration tribunal, including alleged collusion between a judge and a lawyer representing Bolloré.
Despite this development, DIT has expressed that the ruling is procedural and not definitive, suggesting that the legal battle may not be concluded.
