France / 10 June 2004 / France, Cour d'appel de Paris / Société Bargues Agro Industries v. Société Young Pecan Company / 2003/09894
Country | France |
Court | France, Cour d'appel de Paris (Court of Appeal of Paris) |
Date | 10 June 2004 |
Parties | Société Bargues Agro Industries v. Société Young Pecan Company |
Case number | 2003/09894 |
Applicable NYC Provisions | V | V(1) | V(1)(e) | VI | VII | VII(1) |
Source |
Original decision obtained from the registry of the Cour d’appel de Paris |
Summary | An arbitral award was rendered in Antwerp (Belgium) on 28 June 2002 in favor of a US company (Young Pecan). In an order issued on 7 April 2003, the President of the Tribunal de Grande instance de Paris (First Instance Court of Paris) allowed the enforcement of the award in France. Appealing this decision, the opposing party (Bargues) requested a stay of proceedings pending an application to set aside the award that had been made before the First Instance Court of Antwerp in accordance with Article VI NYC. Alternatively, Bargues argued that (i) the arbitration agreement was null and void (Article 1502 1° of the Code of Civil Procedure), since the confirmation orders containing the arbitration clause had been signed by an unauthorized employee, (ii) the arbitral tribunal had not been properly constituted (Article 1502 2°) given that the Chairman lacked independence, and (iii) the enforcement of the award would have been contrary to international public policy (Article 1502 5°). The Cour d'appel de Paris (Paris Court of Appeal) refused to suspend proceedings and confirmed the enforcement order. Regarding the suspension of proceedings, the Cour d'appel de Paris reasoned that pursuant to Article VII NYC, Article 1502 of the Code of Civil Procedure (which, as opposed to Article V(1)(e) NYC, does not list the setting aside of an award as a ground for refusing its recognition and enforcement in France) was applicable. It then noted that given that the award was rendered in the context of an international arbitration, and as such was not anchored in the national legal order of Belgium, the potential setting aside of the award in the country of origin does not impact the existence of the award in a way that would prevent its recognition and enforcement in other national legal order. As a result, the Cour d'appel de Paris held that Article VI NYC, which refers to Article V NYC by authorizing the court in charge of the enforcement of the award to suspend proceedings, is of no use in the context of the recognition and enforcement of an award under Article 1502 of the Code of Civil Procedure. It then dismissed the other grounds for refusing the enforcement of the award in France. |
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Attachment (1)
Original Language Adobe Acrobat PDF |