Alumina and Bauxite Company Ltd v Queensland Alumina Ltd [2024] FCAFC 142

FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA Alumina and Bauxite Company Ltd v Queensland Alumina Ltd [2024] FCAFC 142 Appeal from: Alumina and Bauxite Company Ltd v Queensland Alumina Ltd [2024] FCA 43

File number:

Judgment of: MOSHINSKY, STEWART AND BUTTON JJ

Date of judgment: 8 November 2024

Catchwords: STATUTORY INTERPRETATION – autonomous sanctions regime – where export sanction and designated persons sanction were made by Australian Government in mid-March 2022 against Russia and certain Russian business-people – where subsidiary (ABC) of Russian company was a participant in a joint venture to produce alumina at a plant in Gladstone, Queensland – where the operator of the plant (QAL) on 4 April 2022 stopped delivery of alumina to ABC on the basis of the sanctions – where the primary judge found that the delivery of alumina by QAL to ABC after 20 March 2022 would have been contrary to the sanctions – where the primary judge concluded that the defence of supervening illegality was available to QAL – whether the primary judge erred in his construction of the sanctions – whether the primary judge erred in his findings of fact – held: appeal dismissed CONTRACT – where the appellants and certain of the respondents were participants in a joint venture to produce alumina at Gladstone, Queensland – where the participants in the joint venture were party to a participants agreement that provided (in Art 14A) for "step-in" arrangements to apply in the event that certain sanctions were imposed in certain circumstances – where the respondents contended that Art 14A was engaged on the basis of sanctions made by the Australian Government – where the primary judge concluded that Art 14A was not engaged – whether the primary judge erred in his construction of "on" in the phrase "imposes sanctions on" in Art 14A