Germany / 22 June 2009 / Oberlandesgericht München / 34 Sch 26/08
| Country | Germany |
| Court | Germany, Oberlandesgericht München (Higher Regional Court of Munich) |
| Date | 22 June 2009 |
| Case number | 34 Sch 26/08 |
| Applicable NYC Provisions | VII | V | VII(1) | V(1)(d) | V(1)(b) |
| Source | DIS |
| Summary | The Parties entered into an exclusive distribution contract in February 2001, which expired on 31 December 2010. The contract was governed by Spanish law with an arbitration clause for resolution of disputes before the Arbitration Court at the Madrid Chamber of Commerce (MCC), with proceedings in English. The Claimant terminated the contract on the grounds of the Defendant's non-performance and initiated arbitration. The MCC issued an award in the Claimant's favor on 1 February 2007. The Defendant filed an action before the Madrid Court of Appeal to set aside the award, which was denied. The Claimant then sought to have the award enforced in Germany. The Oberlandesgericht (Higher Regional Court) München granted enforcement, finding that the Claimant had complied with the formal requirements for recognition under German law, which applied in virtue of the more-favorable-right provision at Article VII(1) NYC, by supplying a copy of the arbitral award certified by counsel. The Court considered that the decision of the Madrid Court of Appeal that the award was valid despite having been signed by two of three arbitrators was binding on the enforcing court in Germany. It considered that there were no grounds for denying recognition under Article V(1)(d) or Article V(1)(b) NYC. The fact that Spanish was used in the arbitration (rather than English) did not contravene the Parties' agreement, because they also agreed to the application of the MCC rules which provide for proceedings in Spanish. Nor did the language of the proceedings violate due process, as the Defendant failed to show that this prevented the presentation of its case. |
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