Colombia / 20 November 1992 / Colombia, Corte Suprema de Justicia (Supreme Court of Justice) / Sunward Overseas SA v Servicios Maritimos Limitada Semar (Colombia) / 472
| Country | Colombia |
| Court | Colombia, Corte Suprema de Justicia (Supreme Court of Justice) |
| Date | 20 November 1992 |
| Parties | Sunward Overseas SA v Servicios Maritimos Limitada Semar (Colombia) |
| Case number | 472 |
| Applicable NYC Provisions | II | II(2) | III |
| Summary | Semar Maritimos chartered a vessel owned by Sunward Overseas to carry a cargo of 10,000 tons of maize from El Savador to Colombia. Following a dispute on the value of the cargo, on 17 February 1988, an award was rendered in New York in favor of Sunward Overseas. A US District Court granted leave for enforcement. Sunward then requested enforcement of the award before the Corte Suprema de Justicia (Supreme Court). The Corte Suprema de Justicia granted enforcement, applying both national law and the requirements of the NYC. It first held that Articles 693 and 694 of the Colombian code of civil procedure required that the State where the decision was rendered gives the same recognition and enforcement to decisions rendered in Colombia. In the present case, the Corte Suprema de Justicia held that it was the case since both the United States and Colombia have ratified and implemented the NYC. The Corte Suprema de Justicia then noted that one of the effects of the NYC is the binding character of the arbitration agreement as intended by Article II NYC. The Corte Suprema de Justicia acknowledged that the award was binding within the meaning of Article III NYC. The Corte Suprema de Justicia then examined the conditions set forth by the NYC and established that no objection could be made to the enforcement of the award: the dispute arose out of commercial rights, the award was not contrary to public policy, and the dispute was not of exclusive jurisdiction of Colombian Courts. |
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Attachment (1)
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