Firm Obtains Unprecedented Court Order under Cape Town Convention

Ali Sharif Zu’bi Advocates & Legal Consultants Obtains First-Ever Court Order in Jordan Under the Cape Town Convention

Ali Sharif Zu’bi Advocates & Legal Consultants is proud to have represented a global aviation services provider in an unprecedented claim against a Jordanian airline to repossess an aircraft engine under the Cape Town Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment (the Convention).

This is the first time that the Jordanian Courts have addressed, interpreted, and applied the provisions of the Convention. 

In this unprecedented action, the Firm represented the lessor and sought relief in the form of a request to order the repossession of an aircraft engine under Article 13 of the Convention.

The Court of Appeal, overturning an earlier decision issued by the Court of First Instance on the same matter, confirmed the applicability of the Convention, the Client’s ability to rely on it to repossess the engine in question, and drew a clear distinction between the forms of interim relief available under Jordan’s Civil Procedures Law and the ‘speedy relief’ prescribed by the Convention, applying the latter for the first time in the history of Jordan.

In a significant departure from the general rules of interim relief under Jordanian law, the Court confirmed that the Convention exceptionally entitles the lessor, in cases where the Convention applies, to take possession of mobile equipment upon presenting prima facie evidence of a breach of contract on the part of the lessee, explaining that this form of relief is essentially ‘relief in advance.’

This monumental finding by the Court of Appeal serves to confirm the readiness of Jordanian Courts to uphold the protections granted to ‘lessors’ under the Convention in transactions involving mobile equipment on Jordanian territory.

Ali Sharif Zu’bi Advocates & Legal Consultants regularly advises clients on aviation law matters, including financing, registration, leasing, sale, deregistration and aviation disputes. For further information or advice, please contact info@zubilaw.com.