Switzerland / 07 August 1995 / Switzerland, Camera di esecuzione e fallimenti del Tribunale d’appello, Repubblica e Cantone Ticino / 14.94.00021
| Country | Switzerland |
| Court | Switzerland, Camera di esecuzione e fallimenti del Tribunale d’appello, Repubblica e Cantone Ticino |
| Date | 07 August 1995 |
| Case number | 14.94.00021 |
| Applicable NYC Provisions | III | IV | V | V(1) | V(1)(a) | V(1)(b) | V(1)(d) | V(1)(e) | V(2) | V(2)(b) | VII | VII(1) |
| Source |
www.sentenze.ti.ch (website of the Canton of Ticino), published with the authorization of the competent authorities |
| Languages | English |
| Summary | An award was rendered in Italy on 22 December 1993. Upon X’s request, the Ufficio d’Esecuzione di Lugano (Debt Collection Office of Lugano) issued a payment order, to which Y raised an objection (opposizione). X requested the dismissal of the objection (rigetto definitivo) before the Pretore del Distretto di Lugano (First Instance Court of Lugano). In response, Y relied on Article VII NYC and claimed that X had not complied with the provisions of the Convention between Switzerland and Italy on the recognition and enforcement of judgments of 1933, which provided that the award had to be enforced in Italy first, and that absent such enforcement the award had not yet become binding on the parties pursuant to Article V(1)(e) NYC. Y also argued that (i) the award was null and void according to Article V(1)(d) NYC, since the arbitrators had not complied with the 90 day time limit to render the award, (ii) it had been unable to present its case, in violation of Article V(1)(b) NYC, because the arbitrators had continued with the proceeding after Y’s counsel resigned, (iii) the arbitration agreement was null and void pursuant to Article V(1)(a) NYC since the subject-matter of the dispute was not capable of settlement by arbitration under the law applicable to the agreement (i.e. Italian law), (iv) the award was contrary to Swiss public policy because Y had been unable to present its case, and (v) the arbitrators had not complied with the arbitration agreement because they had decided ex aequo et bono instead of applying the law. In response X argued, inter alia, that pursuant to Article III, the award had become binding on the parties as soon as it had been signed by the arbitrators, irrespective of its recognition and enforcement in Italy. The Pretore rejected Y’s arguments and dismissed the objection. Y appealed the decision. The Camera di Esecuzione e Fallimenti del Tribunale d’Appello (Debt Collection and Bankruptcy Chamber of the Court of Appeal) dismissed the appeal, thus dismissing the objection to the payment order and allowing the enforcement of the award to proceed. The Tribunale d’Appello observed that pursuant to Article 194 of the Federal Act on Private International Law, the NYC is applicable to the enforcement and recognition of foreign awards. Referring to Article VII(1) NYC, the Tribunale d’Appello noted that the Federal Council had decided that a party seeking to recognize or enforce a foreign award could either rely on the provisions of the NYC or on any other more favorable provisions contained in a convention binding Switzerland or under Swiss law. As a consequence, the Tribunale d’Appello held that X was entitled to rely on the provisions of the NYC, which do not require obtaining the award to be enforced in Italy in order to be recognized and enforced in Switzerland. It further held that, pursuant to Article V(1)(e) NYC, the award became binding on the parties as soon as it was signed by the arbitrators. The Tribunale d’Appello rejected Y’s claim that it had been unable to present its case, holding that it had had sufficient time to appoint a new counsel but had failed to do so. It also dismissed Y’s objections that the arbitration agreement was null and void according to Article V(1)(a) NYC, and that the subject-matter was not capable of settlement by arbitration. Lastly, the Tribunale d’Appello held that the recognition and enforcement of the award did not violate Swiss, recalling that according to Swiss case law and doctrine, such violation occurred only when the recognition or enforcement of the award was against the most fundamental rules of Swiss law, which was not the case here. |
Attachment (1)
 Original Language Adobe Acrobat PDF |
