Kuwait Airways obtains seizure order against Iraq and Iraqi Airways interests in Bombardier aircraft in Canada

A further order was obtained seizing two properties in Quebec belonging to the State of Iraq.

The orders were made in support of earlier judgments handed down by the English High Court.

The dispute between KAC and IAC, which commenced in 1990 following the invasion of Kuwait, has been the longest running commercial case in the history of the English Courts, mainly due to a series of findings of perjury against Iraqi Airways which led to an overthrowing of twelve years of previous decisions.

Judgments have been given against IAC on the correct facts, totalling some $1.2bn.

IAC / the Iraqi Government recently announced orders for some $5bn of aircraft from Boeing and Bombardier and deliveries are expected to commence next month.

Recent statements from Baghdad have suggested that the orders of aircraft to be flown by IAC were made by the Iraqi State to avoid potential liability to KAC.

Regardless of these statements, the Superior Court in Montreal issued its Orders yesterday August 27th 2008.

Earlier, in a judgment given in the English High Court 16th July 2008 Mr Justice Steel ordered that the State of Iraq pay the costs of KAC (totalling in excess of $83.5m) incurred due to the fraudulent defence of Iraqi Airways of the KAC claim. The conduct of the action had been previously described by a Judge as "perversion of justice on a remarkable and almost unprecedented scale".

Christopher Gooding of the London Law Firm of Howard Kennedy has represented Kuwait Airways since the 3rd August 1990, the day after the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq.

Mr Gooding stated:

"Following the judgment against Iraq I said that enforcement action could be expected shortly. This first move in a sequence of planned enforcement proceedings, taken with the consent of the Kuwaiti Government, has been forced on KAC by the total lack of movement towards any meaningful negotiations by Iraq and IAC. I hope that this action will act as a wake-up call. As I have said before, it is not the intention of KAC to take aggressive action for its own sake, but in the absence of any meaningful dialogue and in the light of KAC's duty to protect public funds, IAC and Iraq can expect further similar action to be taken without further warning."