CACVA.docVIP

cacv?373/2008 CACV?3/2009 in the high court of the hong kong special administrative region court of appeal civil appeal no.?373 of 2008 No.?43 of 2009 (on appeal from HCMP NO.?928 of 2008) BETWEEN FG HEMISPHERE ASSOCIATES LLC Plaintiff (Appellant) And DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO 1st?Defendant (1st燫espondent) CHINA RAILWAY GROUP (HONG KONG) LIMITED 2nd燚efendant (2nd燫espondent) c CHINA RAILWAY RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT LIMITED 3rd?Defendant (3rd燫espondent) CHINA RAILWAY SINO-CONGO MINING LIMITED 4th? Defendant (4th燫espondent) CHINA RAILWAY GROUP LIMITED 5th?Defendant (5th燫espondent) And SECRETARY FOR JUSTICE Intervener (6th?Respondent) Before: Hon Stock VP, Yeung燡A and Yuen燡A in Court Date of Hearing: 19燤arch 20102nd Date of Judgment: 19?March 2010 J U D G M E N T Hon Stock VP: On 10燜ebruary 2010 we handed down judgment by which the appeals were, by a majority, allowed. iWe made a costs order nisi that the costs of the appeals and the respondent notices be paid by the defendants to the plaintiff, and that the costs of the originating summons and of the defendants’ summonses be reserved pending determination of an inquiry which we directed to be carried out by the Court of First Instance. We have two summonses to vary the order nisi as to costs: a summons by the plaintiff which asks that the order nisi be varied or clarified to the extent that (a)爐he costs of the appeals and of the respondent notices be paid by the respondents (including, for the avoidance of doubt, the Intervener) to the plaintiff; and (b)爐he plaintiff be entitled to taxation of its costs forthwith; and a summons by the first defendant that the order nisi be varied to the extent that the costs of the appeals and of the respondent notices together with the costs of the originating summons and of the defendant summonses be reserved to the judge of the Court of First Instance who is to undertake the inquiry which this Court has ordered. We need first to deal with the