Germany / 15 December 2009 / Oberlandesgericht Düsseldorf / I-4 Sch 10/09
| Country | Germany |
| Court | Germany, Oberlandesgericht Düsseldorf (Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf) |
| Date | 15 December 2009 |
| Case number | I-4 Sch 10/09 |
| Applicable NYC Provisions | V | IV | V(1)(b) | V(2)(b) | IV(1)(b) |
| Source | DIS |
| Summary | The Parties' U.S. parent company concluded a sales contract in 2003, which contained an arbitration clause. The Claimant assigned all rights under the contract in 2006. In 2008, the Claimant commenced arbitration before a sole arbitrator. The Defendant participated, but informed the sole arbitrator that it would not attend the hearing due to financial difficulties. The arbitrator rendered an award in 2009 in the Claimant's favor. The Oberlandesgericht (Higher Regional Court) Düsseldorf hold that the award was enforceable. It reasoned that the Claimant had supplied documents that complied with the less strict formal conditions of German law for the recognition of a foreign arbitral award, which applied in virtue of the more-favorable-right provision at Article VII(1) NYC. The Court reasoned that an award was valid and final under the applicable American Arbitration Association (AAA) rules, and that this condition must be examined by the Court of its own initiative, pursuant to German law. The fact that the Defendant did not attend the hearing did not violate due process or public policy, since it had expressly informed the arbitrator that it would not attend and was fully informed of the proceedings. The applicable AAA Rules provided that an award did not have to contain reasons, and this possibility does not violate basic principles of German law. |
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Attachment (1)
 Original Language Adobe Acrobat PDF |
