France / 02 April 1998 / France, Cour d'appel de Paris / Compagnie française d'études et de construction Technip (Technip) v. Entreprise nationale des engrais et des produits phytosanitaires (Asmidal) / 97/6929
| Country | France |
| Court | France, Cour d'appel de Paris (Court of Appeal of Paris) |
| Date | 02 April 1998 |
| Parties | Compagnie française d'études et de construction Technip (Technip) v. Entreprise nationale des engrais et des produits phytosanitaires (Asmidal) |
| Case number | 97/6929 |
| Applicable NYC Provisions | V | V(1) | V(1)(a) | V(1)(b) | V(1)(c) | V(1)(d) | V(2) | V(2)(b) | VII | VII(1) |
| Source |
Original decision obtained from the registry of the Cour d’appel de Paris |
| Summary | An ICC award was rendered in Zurich on 8 July 1996 in favor of an Algerian Company (ASMIDAL). In an order issued on 6 January 1997, the President of the Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris allowed enforcement of the award in France. Appealing this decision, the losing party (Technip) argued that the enforcement order should be overturned pursuant to Article 1502 of the Code of Civil procedure given that (i) the arbitral tribunal had wrongly upheld jurisdiction, (ii) the arbitral tribunal had not properly been constituted, (iii) the arbitral tribunal had not complied with the mandate conferred upon it, (iv) due process had been violated, and (v) recognition and enforcement was contrary to international public policy. In response, ASMIDAL claimed that only the provisions of the NYC should be applied. The Cour d'appel de Paris (Paris Court of Appeal) confirmed the enforcement order and dismissed the action. It first reasoned that the procedure pertaining to the enforcement of the award in France is subject to the conditions set forth by both the NYC, ratified by France and Switzerland, and French rules on enforcement of awards. It added that the control of the regularity of an award by French Courts in order to allow its integration in French legal order may be based on either the NYC or French law (notably, Articles 1498 and 1502 of the Code of Civil Procedure); while noting that pursuant to Article VII NYC, the provisions of French law which are more favorable to the enforcement of the award must prevail. It then dismissed each claim for refusing enforcement of the award, after noting that the provisions of French law invoked (Article 1502 of the Code of Civil Procedure) are similar to that of the NYC. In this respect, the Cour d'appel de Paris held that (i) Article V(1)(a) NYC and Article 1502 1° (on whether the arbitral tribunal ruled without an arbitration agreement or on the basis of an arbitration agreement which was null and void) address similar situations, (ii) Article V(1)(b) NYC and Article 1502 4° (violation of due process) have the same scope, except that the latter refers to the principles of French law in an international context, (iii) Article V(1)(c) NYC and Article 1502 3° (as to the obligation of the arbitral tribunal to comply with the mandate conferred upon it) have the same scope, and (iv) Article 1502 includes the same provisions as Article V(1)(d) NYC (regarding the constitution of the arbitral tribunal). Lastly, it ruled that Article 1502 5° (as to the violation of international public policy) is in "perfect harmony" with Article V(2)(b) NYC. |
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Attachment (1)
 Original Language Adobe Acrobat PDF |
