Italy / 08 October 2008 / Italy, Corte di Cassazione (Supreme Court) / Globtrade Italiana srl v. East Point Trading Ltd / 24856
| Country | Italy |
| Court | Italy, Corte di Cassazione (Supreme Court) |
| Date | 08 October 2008 |
| Parties | Globtrade Italiana srl v. East Point Trading Ltd |
| Case number | 24856 |
| Applicable NYC Provisions | IV | III | IV(1) |
| Languages | English |
| Summary | A contractual dispute arose between an Italian company, Globtrade Italiana (“Globtrade”), and a Cypriot company (“East Point Trading”), which the parties decided to submit to arbitration in London under the rules of the Grain and Feed Trade Association (GAFTA). An award was rendered in favor of East Point Trading, which was enforced in Italy by an ex parte order (decreto) of the President of the Corte di Appello di Trieste (Trieste Court of Appeal). Globtrade filed a petition against the enforcement order under Article 840 of the Italian Code of Civil Procedure (opposizione). The petition was rejected by the Corte di Appello di Trieste, which stated that East Point Trading had submitted the original of the award. Globtrade appealed, arguing that the decision violated Article 839.2 of the Italian Code of Civil Procedure and Articles III and IV(1) NYC, since the award provided by East Point Trading was only a copy that should have been certified as being in conformance with the original and that even if the document was an original it should have been authenticated. The Corte Suprema di Cassazione (Supreme Court) overturned the decision of the Corte di Appello di Trieste and denied enforcement of the award. It held that under Article IV(1) NYC, the submission of a duly authenticated original award, or a certified copy thereof, is a prerequisite for the commencement of enforcement proceedings that must be raised ex officio by the courts. The Corte Suprema di Cassazione further held that the formal requirements of authentication are governed by the procedural rules of the place of enforcement, in accordance with Article III NYC, thus dismissing East Point Trading’s attempt to rely on the Anglo-Saxon practice of, allegedly, no notary public for authenticating documents. The Corte Suprema di Cassazione noted that it was entitled, in the instant case, to review the acts of the file because the appeal was grounded on a procedural error (error in procedendo). Noting that the award had not been duly authenticated, it concluded that the lower court was prevented from examining the request for enforcement of the award. |
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Attachment (1)
 Original Language Adobe Acrobat PDF |
