France / 29 November 1994 / France, Cour de cassation / CDF Chimie North America INC et al. v. Tolt Nielsen Incorporated et al. / 92-14.920
| Country | France |
| Court | France, Cour de cassation (French Court of Cassation) |
| Date | 29 November 1994 |
| Parties | CDF Chimie North America INC et al. v. Tolt Nielsen Incorporated et al. |
| Case number | 92-14.920 |
| Applicable NYC Provisions | II |
| Source |
Original decision obtained from the registry of the Cour de cassation |
| Summary | A French company (CDF Chimie France) chartered a vessel for the transportation of chemicals to a US company (CDF Chimie North America), which was carried out by another US company (Stolt Nielsen). The latter delivered a bill of lading to CDF Chimie North America which provided that transportation was governed by the charter-party agreement, a copy of which could be requested from the charter company or the loading company. A dispute arose after the vessel was damaged and the French company and CDF Chimie North America sued Stolt Nielsen and the owner of the vessel before French Courts, which objected to jurisdiction by invoking the arbitration agreement contained in the charter-party agreement. The Cour d'appel de Paris (Paris Court of Appeal) held that the arbitration agreement was binding upon CDF Chimie North American which had received the bill of lading. CDF Chimie North American challenged this decision. The Cour de cassation (Supreme Court) overturned the decision of the Cour d'appel de Paris. It reasoned that, according to Article II NYC, a party is bound by an arbitration agreement if it has been brought to its attention and if it has consented to it, at the latest, at the time when it received the merchandise, after which it was bound by the charter-party agreement. It then held that CDF Chimie North American was not informed of the content of the charter-party agreement (which included the arbitration agreement) and therefore the decision of the Cour d'appel de Paris did not comply with the provisions of the NYC. |
Attachment (1)
 Original Language Adobe Acrobat PDF |
