France / 22 November 1989 / France, Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris / Société Acteurs Auteurs Associés (A.A.A.) v. Société Hemdale Film Corporation / 10247/89
| Country | France |
| Court | France, Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris (Court of First Instance of Paris) |
| Date | 22 November 1989 |
| Parties | Société Acteurs Auteurs Associés (A.A.A.) v. Société Hemdale Film Corporation |
| Case number | 10247/89 |
| Applicable NYC Provisions | III | V | V(1) | V(2) |
| Summary | On 27 February 1989, an award was rendered in London in favor of Hemdale Film Corporation. The losing party (Acteurs, Auteurs Associés - AAA) sought to have the award declared unenforceable in France on the grounds that it was contrary to international public policy. Hemdale Film Corporation challenged the admissibility of the action by arguing that such action is not provided under the NYC (or allowed under French law) and that Article V NYC subjects the refusal of recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards to a prior application for the recognition and enforcement of the said award. As a counterclaim, it requested the enforcement of the award. The Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris (First Instance Court of Paris) reasoned that Article V NYC sets forth only the situations in which the recognition and enforcement of an arbitral award may be refused by the "competent authority", but does not define the procedural regime, which shall be determined by the country in which the award is sought to be relied upon in accordance with Article III NYC. It thus held that the NYC cannot be interpreted as excluding such action if it is admissible under the laws of a given country and found that, under French law, such action is inadmissible. The Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris then rejected the counterclaim, noting that Hemdale Film Corporation should request the recognition and enforcement of the award before the President of the Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris in accordance with Articles 1477 et seq. of the Code of Civil Procedure. |
Attachment (1)
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