Turkcell’s licensing fight with MTN gets go-ahead in South African courts
Turkish mobile operator Turkcell’s protracted $4.2-billion claim against South African mobile operator MTN is heading for trial in the South Gauteng High Court after years of legal battles over a 2004 telecommunications operating licence bid in Iran.
The Turkish rival had brought several international and local claims against MTN for allegedly causing the Turkish operator to lose the licence bid, through an overturned decision, by using alleged acts of bribery and corruption.
“MTN continues to believe that there is no legal merit to Turkcell’s claim and will accordingly oppose it,” MTN said, noting reports of Turkcell’s intention of proceeding with the years-in-the-making lawsuit to hold MTN accountable.
“The lawsuit currently before the courts is not a new action and arises from a claim that was lodged in 2013, relating to Turkcell’s alleged grievances arising from its unsuccessful bid to obtain a mobile licence in Iran, and the awarding of that licence to MTN Irancell,” MTN said in a statement on Thursday.
Lodged in 2013, the latest lawsuit is Turkcell’s fifth and the first in South Africa, and follows on an attempt to invoke a 1789 Alien Tort Statute in the US.
Those proceedings, under what had become known as the “Kiobel case”, which allowed US courts some jurisdiction in certain foreign human rights and torture cases, was dismissed in May 2013, after which Turkcell withdrew its US-based charges and pursued the case with the South Gauteng High Court a few months later.
This had followed previous attempts by Turkcell to hold MTN accountable in Iranian courts and the dismissal of Turkcell’s 2008 arbitration under the Turkey–Iran bilateral investment treaty by a tribunal of independent arbitrators.
Now, with a High Court judgment rejecting all 29 of MTN’s latest objections, MTN has 20 days to answer Turkcell’s particulars of claim, after which the matter will move towards discovery and a trial date will be set.
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