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Enforcing Awards Annulled in their State of Origin under the New York Convention

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 January 2008

Extract

An impressive corpus of legal literature has accumulated in the last few years on the question whether it is possible or desirable to have an arbitral award enforced under the 1958 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards1 despite the award's having been annulled in the State where it was made. The issue is important not only in the context of the New York Convention, which itself is the most widely used vehicle of recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards,2 but also in the context of other international documents3 or national law provisions modelled on the Convention4 and bilateral treaties that incorporate it by reference.5 The debate has largely centred on two well-known cases, Hilmarton and Chromalloy. It is the purpose of this article to analyse those cases and other relevant case law and offer a comprehensive analysis of the relevance of judicial decisions of the State of origin for purposes of enforcement under the New York Convention. In doing so this article proposes to discuss both the technical aspects of the relevant provisions of the Convention, and in particular their interrelationship, and the issues of legal policy that arise. Though the discussion will touch upon the wider doctrinal question of the degree of independence of arbitral proceedings from the law of the arbitral situs.

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Articles
Copyright
Copyright © British Institute of International and Comparative Law 1999

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References

1. Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (New York, 10 June 1958), (1959) 330 U.N.T.S. 3, 38 (hereafter the “New York Convention” or simply the “Convention”).Google Scholar

2. At the time of writing there were 121 parties to the Convention; see Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary-General, status as at 28 08 1999, available at: http://www.un.org/Depts/Treaty.Google Scholar

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4. See Arbitration Act 1996, s.103(2)(f) (England). German and Swiss law incorporate the Convention by direct reference; see Loi fédérale sur le droit international privé (“LDIP”), 1987, [1988] R.O. 1776, Art.194 (Switzerland); Zivilprozessordnung (“ZPO”), §1061(1) (Germany).Google Scholar

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7. For the purposes of this article “annulment” will include both “formative” judgments (Gestaltungsurteile) annulling or “vacating” awards and judgments declaratory of the nullity of awards.

8. Sanders, P., “New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards”, (1959) 6 Neth. I.L.R. 43, 55.Google Scholar See also van den Berg, A. J.. “Annulment of Awards in International Arbitration”, in Lillich, R. B. and Brower, C N. (Eds), International Arbitration in the 21st Century: Towards “Judicializalion” and Uniformity (1992), pp.133, 161Google Scholar; Height, G. W., Convention on Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Awards: Summary Analysis of the Record of the UN Conference (1958), p.42Google Scholar; Robert, J., L'Arbitrage: Droit Interne, Droit International Privé (5th edn, 1982), pp 343344.Google Scholar Cf. Commonwealth Secretariat, The New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (1981), p.24.Google Scholar

9. The term “enforcement forum” is used here as equivalent to the technical terms “State addressed” or “juge requis”.

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11. See Convention, Art.XVl(1). The other authentic versions are Chinese, Russian, and Spanish.

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18. See Draft Convention, UN Doc.E/2704 and Corr.1 (1955, Original: English), p.7Google Scholar, Art.IV. For a commentary see idem paras.32–33. Such a provision would be even stricter than the similar Art.1(d) of the Geneva Convention, infra n.33, whereas a central motivation behind the New York Convention was to do away with that requirement of finality; see e.g. van den Berg, A. J., The New York Arbitration Convention of 1958 (1981), pp.333334.Google Scholar

19. See Draft Convention, idem, Art.III(b).

20. See Comments on Draft Convention, UN Doc.E/2822 and Add.1–6; see, however, e.g. the comments of the Dutch government, idem, Add.6.

21. See UN Doc.E/CONF.26/L34 (28 05 1958).Google Scholar

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24. Though there is at least one more well-known linguistic discrepancy in the Convention. Art.II(2) reads in English “The term ‘agreement in writing’ shall include [certain forms of agreement]”, whereas the French text apparently limits the valid forms of agreement in writing to those enumerated in that Art.II(2) by providing that “On entend par ‘convention écrite’ [those forms]”. The Russian version agrees with the English one, the French. Spanish and Chinese with the French one.

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30. A good example is the European Convention on Human Rights (Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (Rome, 4 Nov. 1950) (1955) 213 U.N.T.S. 221), which contains such general guidelines in the second para, of Arts.7–11. These paras, have been held by the European Commission and Court of Human Rights to provide a “margin of appreciation”, reviewable by the European institutions, in favour of the domestic implementing authorities.Google Scholar

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32. Van den Berg, idem, pp.82–83, concludes that “any party” will in practice be the party seeking enforcement.

33. See Convention on the Execution of Foreign Arbitral Awards (Geneva, 26 Sept. 1927) (1929) 92 L.N.T.S. 301, hereafter the “Geneva Convention”.Google Scholar

34. This is the case in French and Belgian law; see Nouveau Code de Procédure Civile (“NCPC”), Art.1502 (France), Code Judiciaire, Art.1723 (Belgium).

35. Contrast Art.V(2)(b), which directly authorises refusal of recognition if it would be contrary to the public policy of the enforcement forum.

36. See for that view Samuel, A., Jurisdictional Problems in International Commercial Arbitration (1989), pp.307308.Google Scholar

37. Contrast idem, pp.301–302.

38. See Reisman, W. M., Systems of Control in International Adjudication and Arbitration (1992), Chap.4, pp.111114 (arguing that the Convention sets forth a rule of international allocation of competence). See also infra n.44 and accompanying text.Google Scholar

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42. Idem, p.313, sub no.[2].

43. Ibid. sub no.[4].

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49. Cass. Civ. 1re, 9 10 1984Google Scholar, Société Pabalk Ticaret Sirketi v. Société Norsolor (1985) 112 J.D.I.Google Scholar, note Kahn, (1985) 74 R.C.D.I.P. 555Google Scholar, [1985] D. 101Google Scholar, note Robert, [1985] Rev. Arb. 431Google Scholar, note Goldman, (1985) 24 I.L.M. 360Google Scholar, (1986) 11 Y.C.A. 484Google Scholar, (1985) 2 No.2 J. Int. Arb. 67Google Scholar, note Thompson. See also Robert, J. “Retour sur l'arět Pabalk-Norsolor” [1985] D. chr. 83Google Scholar; Goldman, B., “Une Bataille Judiciaire autour de la Lex Mercatoria: L'affaire Norsolor” [1983] Rev. Arb. 379.Google Scholar

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51. See op. cit. supra n.18.

52. See Tribunal Fédéral, 14 03 1984Google Scholar, Denysiana SA v. Jassica SA (1984) 110 B.G.E. lb 191Google Scholar; President, Rechtbank Amsterdam, 24 04 1991Google Scholar (v/o Tractoexport v. Dimpex Trading BV), (1992) 17 Y.C.A. 572Google Scholar; Bundesgerichtshof, 26 Feb. 1991, (1991) 37 R.I.W. 420Google Scholar, (1992) 17 Y.C.A. 513.Google Scholar

53. See infra n.110 and accompanying text.

54. Cass. Civ. 1re, 10 03 1993Google Scholar, Société Polish Ocean Line v. Société Jolasry (1993) 120 J.D.I. 360Google Scholar, note Kahn, [1993] Rev. Arb. 255Google Scholar, note Hascher, (1994) 19 Y.C.A. 662.Google Scholar

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57. Paris, 12 Feb. 1993, Société Unichips Finanziaria v. Gesnouin [1993] Rev. Arb. 255Google Scholar, note Hascher, (1994) 19 Y.C.A. 658.Google Scholar

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59. Though the exact provision of French law on which the respondent was relying does not appear on the decision as reported, it may be presumed that the basis was a general rule on “préclusion” or good faith.

60. See for a similar case Supreme Court, Durban and Coast Local Division, Laconian Maritime Enterprises Ltd v. Agromar Lineas Ltd [1986] 3 S.A.L.R. 511Google Scholar, (1989) 14 Y.C.A. 693.Google Scholar For the notions generally see DSV Silo- und Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH v. Owners of the Sennar and thirteen other ships, The Sennar [1985] 1 W.L.R. 490Google Scholar, [1985] 2 All E.R. 104, HLGoogle Scholar; Alfadda et al. v. Fenn et al., 996 F.Supp. 1317, 13251332 (SDNY 1997) (containing a discussion of the US law judicial and academic authorities).Google Scholar

61. Leurent has argued, implausibly, that Art.VII should function in such cases as a mechanism to ensure that the situs law prevails: if an award has been validated or not annulled by the courts there, Art.VII(1) should make situs law apply and render control by Art.V(1) inapplicable; see Leurent, B., “Reflections of the International Effectiveness of Arbitration Awards”, (1996) 12 Arb. Int. 269, 283.Google Scholar (For the original in French see [1994] Tr. Com. Fr. D.I.P. 95.)Google Scholar

62. In any event, an order of enforcement, as distinct from a confirming declaration, at the State of origin would not under normal principles qualify as a “judgment” for purposes of recognition; see Hascher, D. T., “Recognition and Enforcement of Arbitration Awards and the Brussels Convention” (1996) 12 Arb. Int. 233, 237241.Google ScholarFor an exception see Treaty Concerning the Reciprocal Recognition and Enforcement of Judicial Decisions and other Executory Instruments (Oslo, 17 June 1977), (1983) 1320 U.N.T.S. 37, 61, Art. 1(3) (Federal Republic of Germany-Norway).Google Scholar

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64. See ICC 5622/1988, [1993] Rev. Arb. 327Google Scholar, (1994) 19 Y.C.A. 105.Google Scholar

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67. Paris, 19 Dec. 1991, Société Hilmarton v. Société OTV [1993] Rev. Arb. 300Google Scholar, (1993) 46 R.T.D. Comm. 646, note Loquin.Google Scholar

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70. The formulation is borrowed from Professor Goldman; see Goldman, [1983] Rev. Arb. 379, 389.Google Scholar

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73. This is redolent of the Kyocera case, where it was held that the courts should enforce an agreement of the parties providing for a heightened standard of scrutiny of their award in comparison to federal law; see Lapine Technology Corporation v. Kyocera Corporation, 130 F.3d 884, (1998) 23 Y.C.A. 210Google Scholar (9th Cir. 1997), followed with reservations by New England Utilities v. Hydro-Quebec, 10 F.Supp.2d 53 (D Mass 1998)Google Scholar, discussed in UHC Management Co. Inc. v. Computer Sciences Corporation, 148 F.3d 992, 997998Google Scholar (8th Circ.1998). Cf. Ringer, J. R. and Seidel, M. L., “Judicial Review Clauses in Transnational Arbitration Agreements” (1998) 12(5) Inside Litigation 6, 910Google Scholar; and see further Raghavan, V.. “Heightened Judicial Review of Arbitral Awards” (1998) 15 No.3 J. Int. Arb. 103.Google Scholar

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77. See for that aspect of renvoi Briggs, A., “In Praise and Defence of Renvoi” (1998) 47 I.C.L.Q. 877.Google Scholar

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80. See Brussels, Convention, supra n.15; Convention on Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters (Lugano, 16 Sept.) (1988), (1988) OJ. L319/9–48.Google Scholar

81. See Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters (The Hague, 1 Feb. 1971), (1979) 1144 U.N.T.S 249, hereafter the “Hague Convention” Arts 4, 10–12.Google Scholar

82. Contrast the European Convention on International Commercial Arbitration (Geneva, 21 Apr. 1961), (1964) 484 U.N.T.S 349Google Scholar, hereafter the “European Convention” Art.IX(1). See on that provision, OGH, 20 Oct. 1993 (Radenska v. Kajo) [1998] Rev. Arb. 419, note Lastenouse and Senkovic.Google Scholar

83. See In the Matter of the Arbitration between Chromalloy Aeroservices v. The Arab Republic of Egypt, 939 F.Supp. 907, (1996) 35 I.L.M. 1359Google Scholar, (1997) 22 Y.C.A. 1001 (DDC 1996). Note that the provisions of the Convention were incorporated into US law in 1970 by Chapter 2 of the Federal Arbitration Act; see US Code, Title 9 (hereafter “9 USC”), Chapter 2, §§ 201–208.Google Scholar

84. See (1996) 11 (8) Mealey's Int. Arb. Rep. C–1Google Scholar, [1997] Rev. Arb. 439.Google Scholar

85. See 939 F.Supp. 907, 912.

86. The court nullified the award on the ground that the tribunal had failed properly to apply the administrative law of Egypt, based on Art.53(1)(d) of the Law Concerning Arbitration in Civil and Commercial Matters (Law 27/1994, text in [1994] Rev. Arb. 763). The provision allows for annulment if “la sentence a ecarté l'application au fond du litige de la loi convenue par les parties”.

87. It has been argued that this is untenable as a matter of US law, because there, unlike e.g. in France, the New York Convention (9 USC §§201–208) is the common law for the enforcement and recognition of foreign awards. See Gharavi, H. G. “The Legal Inconsistencies of Chromalloy” (1997) 12(5) Mealey's Int. Arb. Rep. 21Google Scholar; Schwartz, E. A., “A Comment on Chromalloy:. Hilmarton, à l'américaine” (1997) 14 No. 2 J. Int. Arb. 125, 132Google Scholar; Hulbert, R. W.. “Further Observations on Chromalloy: A Contract Misconstrued, a Law Misapplied, and an Opportunity Forgone” (1998) 13 1 ICSID Rev.—F.I.L.J. 124, 135140. This, however, is a point which hinges on the interpretation of US law (in particular 9 USC §§9, 10, and 208) and thus need not concern this analysis.Google Scholar

88. See for that ground First Options of Chicago v. Kaplan, 514 VS. 938, 115 S.Ct. 1920 (1995); and for previous authorities see USCA, Title 9, Chapter 1, ¶¶1116.Google Scholar

89. See 939 F.Supp. 907, 912.

90. See LDIP, Arr.192(1) (text and comment in Lalive et al op. cit. supra n.65 at pp.446450Google Scholar (Switzerland)) Code Judiciaire, Art.1717(4), as amended by Act of 19 May 1998 (Moniteur Belge, 7 Aug. 1998) (Belgium); Arbitration Code (Law No.93–42), Art.78(2)(II) (6) (Tunisia) (text in Annex I to Malouche, H., “Tunisia”, in Sanders, P. and van den Berg, A. J. (Eds) International Handbook of Commercial Arbitration (1994))Google Scholar; cf. Arbitration Act 1952, as amended, s.34(1) (Malaysia) (text in (1981) 6 Y.C.A. 194).Google Scholar

91. See e.g. Kerr, M., “Arbitration and the Courts: The UNCITRAL Model Law” (1985) 34 I.C.L.Q. 1, 2, 1516.Google Scholar

92. See supra n.90. Under s.34(1) of the Malaysian Act, however, exclusion would be mandatory and automatic for ICSID and UNCITRAL Rules proceedings.

93. See supra n.86, Art.54(1).

94. Gary Sampliner, counsel for Chromalloy, is sanguine: “Egypt was not selected as the seat of arbitration for fortuitous reasons. It clearly was the country with the strongest nexus to the contract at issue”; see Sampliner, G. H., “Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards after Annulment in their Country of Origin” (1996) 11 Mealey's Int. Arb. Rep. 22, 26.Google Scholar

95. Sec 939 F.Supp. 907, 914. The court assumed, however, that the Egyptian decision was xy6proper under applicable domestic law”: ibid.

96. Cf. Ostrowski, S. T. and Shany, Y., “Chromalloy: United States Law and International Arbitration at the Crossroads” (1998) 73 N.Y.U.L.Rev. 1650, 1671.Google Scholar

97. See e.g. Nariman, F. S., “Some Thoughts on the Fiftieth Anniversary of the New York Convention, 1958” [1998] Int. A.L.R. 163, 165.Google Scholar

98. So the district court in Chromalloy erred in saying that “Article VII does not eliminate all consideration of Article V”; see 939 F.Supp. 907, 914.

99. It would be more accurate from a technical point of view to speak in terms of “denial of res judicata” but under most national laws the conditions for granting recognition and res judicata substantially overlap, at least in so far as money judgments are concerned.

100. For a comparative overview of grounds for refusal of recognition see Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law, Note on the Recognition and Enforcement of Decisions in the Perspective of a Double Convention with Special Regard to Foreign Judgments Awarding Punitive or Excessive Damages (Enforcement of Judgments: Prel. Doc. No.4, (1996)) pp.817.Google Scholar

101. Cf. Park, op. cit. supra n.34, at p.134Google Scholar (discussing the possibility of biased or corrupt judiciaries), and “National Law and Commercial Justice: Safeguarding Procedural Integrity in International Commercial Arbitration” (1989) 63 Tul. L.R. 647Google Scholar, reprinted as “Judicial Controls in the Arbitral Process” (1989) 5 Arb. Int. 230, 262 (referring to “dishonestly annulled” awards).Google Scholar

102. Cf. the Brussels Convention, Art.27(3); Hague Convention, Art.5(3)(b). That case is sometimes considered to fall under the general ground of contrariety to public policy, see e.g. Convention on the Reciprocal Recognition of Judicial Decisions (Athens, 4 Nov. 1961), Act 4305/1963, [1963] Official Gazette of the Hellenic Republic, No.A78, Art.3(1)(a) (Federal Republic of Germany-Greece).Google Scholar

103. For the principle see op. cit. supra n.100, at p.10.Google Scholar

104. See Petrochilos, G. C. “Note: The Legal Relevance of ‘Foreign’ Mandatory Procedural Rules in the Context of International Commercial Arbitration” (1998) 51(2) R.H.D.I. (forthcoming) with further references (discussing moratorium laws). For concrete examples of pre-labelled mandatory rules see Brussels Convention, Art.27(4) and Hague Convention, Art.7(2).Google Scholar

105. See Sampliner, G. H. “Enforcement of Nullified Arbitral Awards: Chromalloy Revisited (1997) 14 No.3 J. Int Arb. 141, 161.Google Scholar

106. See Brussels Convention, Art.28. And e.g. in France Cass. Civ. 1re, 6 Feb. 1985, Fairhurst v. Simitch (1985) 112 J.D.I. 460Google Scholar, note Huet, , (1985) 74 R.C.D.I.P. 369Google Scholar, note Francescakis, at 243, [1985] D. 469, note Massip.Google Scholar

107. See e.g. Indian Supreme Court, Oil & Natural Gas Commission v. Western Company of North America [1987] A.I.R. S.C 674Google Scholar, (1988) 13 Y.C.A. 473Google Scholar; National Thermal Power Corporation v. The Singer Company et al. [1993] A.I.R. S.C. 998Google Scholar, (1993) 18 Y.C.A. 403Google Scholar; Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd v. ONGC Ltd et al [1998] A.I.R. S.C. 825Google Scholar, [1998] Int. A.L.R. N–84 (all decided under the regime of the now abrogated Foreign Awards Act 1961).Google Scholar

108. Van den, Berg, op. cit. supra n.18 at p.351 has suggested that the problem is resolved by application of Art.III of the Convention and ordinary domestic law procedural rules; cf. on conflicting decisions the Hague Convention, Art.5(3)(c). This is an unlikely scenario, but cf. Waterside Navigation Co. v. International Navigation Ltd, 737 F.2d 150, 153 (2d Cir. 1984), where the court noted that confirmation had been requested in three countries.Google Scholar

109. Cf. Paris, 23 10 1997Google Scholar, Inter-Arab Investment Guarantee Corporation v. Banque Arabe et Internationale d'Investissement SA [1998] Rev. Arb. 143, 146Google Scholar, note Fouchard, ; CA Brussels, 24 01 1997Google Scholar, Compagnie Inter-Arabe de Garantie des Inveslissements v. Société Banque Arabe et Internationale d'Investissement [1998] Rev. Arb. 181, 185187Google Scholar, note Linsmeau, , affirming TPI Brussels, 15 01 1996Google Scholar, Compagnie Inter-Arabe de Garantie des Investissements v. Société Banque Arabe el Internationale d'Investissement [1997] J.T. 6, note Hanotiau and Duquesne, idem, p.305.Google Scholar

110. See Sampliner, op. cit. supra n.105, at pp.162163.Google Scholar

111. Cf. the purpose of the requirement of exhaustion of local remedies applicable in diplomatic protection proceedings; see the Ambatielos arbitration (1956) 23 I.L.R. 306, 12 R.I.A.A. 83Google Scholar (Greece v. UK, ad hoc 1956). See also e.g. Art 35(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights, supra n.30 (as amended by Protocol No.11 of 1994).Google Scholar

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113. See Code of Civil Procedure, Art.1076(2) (Netherlands); Code Judiciaire, Art.1704 (4) (Belgium). See further Hebei Import and Export, supra n.79, (per Justice Litton PJ, discussing whether the concept of estoppel may properly apply to the Convention provisions).

114. See supra n.26.

115. Paris, 24 Feb. 1994, Ministère tunisien l'Equipment v. Société Bee Frères [1995] Rev. Arb. 275Google Scholar, note Gaudemet-Tallon, , (1997) 22 Y.C.A. 682.Google Scholar

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117. See Cass. Civ. 1re, 24 Mar. 1998, Société Excelsior Film TV, SRL v. Société UGC-PH (1999) 126 J.D.I. 155Google Scholar, note Kahn (the case concerned the exception d'ordre public of Arts. 1502(5) NCPC and V(2)(b) of the Convention). Cf. also Paris, 2 Apr. 1998, Technip v. Asmidal, summarised and commented on by Gaillard, [1998] Int. A.L.R. N–80 (cumulatively applying French law and the Convention).Google Scholar

118. Op. cit. supra n.18 at pp.8586, with further references.Google Scholar

119. There is, however, US case law to the effect that there may exist “non-domestic” Convention awards which are at the same time subject to the scrutiny of domestic courts by the FAA standards; see Yusuf Ahmed Alghanim & Sons, WLL v. Toys ‘R’ Us Inc., 126 F.3d 15 (2d Cir. 1997).Google Scholar This paradoxical result is due to an interpretation of decisions like Bergesen v. Joseph Muller Corp., 710 F.2d 928 (2d Cir. 1983)Google Scholar; Lander Co. Inc. v. MMP Investments Inc., 107 F.3d 476 (7th Cir. 1997)Google Scholar; Trans Chemical Limited v. China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation, 978 F.Supp. 266 (SD Texas 1997)Google Scholar, which interpret the notion of “non-domestic” awards. The matter is discussed by van den Berg, A. J., “When is an Arbitral Award Non-domestic under the New York Convention of 1958?” (1985) 6 Pace L.R. 25Google Scholar, reprinted as “Non-domestic Arbitral Awards under the 1958 New York Convention” (1986) 2 Arb. Int. 191Google Scholar; and Rau, A. S., “The New York Convention in American Courts” (1996) 7 Am. Rev. Int. Arb. 213.Google Scholar

120. See supra nn.95–96 and accompanying text.

121. See e.g. Maridakis, G. S., Enforcement of Foreign Judgments (in Greek) (3rd edn, 1971), p.65Google Scholar; and in the context of the Brussels Convention see Gothot, P. and Holleaux, D., La Convention de Bruxelles du 27.9.1968 (1985) sub no.256. Cf. Tribunal Fédéral, 9 Nov. 1998Google Scholar, LSA v. V (1998) 16 Bull. A.S.A. 634, 643.Google Scholar

122. See Sampliner, , op. cit. supra n.105 at pp.163165.Google Scholar

123. See TPI Brussels, 6 Dec. 1988, Sonatrach v. Ford, Bacon and Davis, Inc. [1993] J.T. 685Google Scholar, (1989) 7 Bull. A.S.A. 213Google Scholar, (1990) 15 Y.C.A. 370Google Scholar, affirmed, CA Brussels, 9 Jan. 1990 (cited by Park, W. W., “Illusion and Reality in International Forum Selection” (1995) 30 Tex. Int. L.J. 135, 180, n.274.Google Scholar

124. See idem, sub nos.[15], [19].

125. See Convention, Art.III.

126. See Paulsson, J., “Enforcing Arbitral Awards Notwithstanding a Local Standard Annulment (LSA)” (1998) 9(1) ICC Bull. 14, 17Google Scholar; Carbonneau, T., “Debating the Proper Role of National Law under the New York Arbitration Convention” (1998) 6 Tul. J. Int. & Comp. L. 277, 281.Google Scholar

127. See e.g. Leurent, B. and Meyer-Fabre, N., “La Reconnaissance en France des Sentences rendues à l'Etranger, l'Exemple Franco Suisse” (1995) 13 Bull. A.S.A. 118Google Scholar; Gharavi, H. G.. “Chromalloy: Another View” (1997) 12(1) Mealey's Int. Arb. Rep. 21.Google Scholar And see Poudret, J.-F., “Quelle Solution pour en finir avec l'affaire Hilmarton?” [1998] Rev. Arb. 8, 1521 (suggesting that the Brussels/Lugano Conventions mechanism be extended to judicial decisions on arbitral awards).Google Scholar

128. This is sometimes overseen, hence the criticism for legal imperialism and the like; see e.g. Besson, S. and Pittet, L., “La Reconnaissance à l'Etranger d'une Sentence Annullée dans son État d'Origine—Reflexions à la suite de l'Affaire Hilmarton” (1998) 16 Bull. A.S.A. 498, 510.Google Scholar

129. See Reisman, , op. cit. supra n.38 at p.114.Google Scholar

130. A good, if somewhat obscure, example is provided by the Guatemalan Code of Civil and Commercial Procedure, which provides as a mandatory requirement that the time accorded to the parties for the submission of their claims cannot exceed one fourth of the time provided for the duration of the whole of the arbitration proceedings in the arbitration agreement; see Art.288(1) juncto 287 quoted by Born, G. B., International Commercial Arbitration in the United Stales: Commentary & Materials (1994), pp.167168.Google Scholar

131. See Meyer, P., “L'Insertion de la Sentence dans l'Ordre Juridique française”, in Derains, Y. (Ed.), Droit el Pratique de l'Arbitrage International en France (1984), p.81, at pp.8284.Google Scholar

132. See e.g. Gailard, op. cit. supra n.63, at pp.672674; “Enforcement of a Nullified Foreign Award” N.Y.L.J.; 2 Oct. 1997.Google Scholar

133. Switzerland, however, applies a strict requirement of connection when execution is sought against a State; see Tribunal Fédéral, 19 June 1980, Sozialistische Libysche Volks-Jamahiriya v. LIAMCO (1980) 106 Ia B.G.E. 142Google Scholar, (1982) 62 I.L.R. 228Google Scholar, (1981) 20 I.L.M. 151, introductory note Delaume and the references there.Google Scholar

134. Cf. Goldman, [1983] Rev. Arb. 379, 390.Google Scholar

135. Van den, Berg, op. cit. supra n.8 at p.81 suggests that the “unilateralist” French school of private international law might have exercised a strong influence in the shaping of such conceptions. This may well be correct if “unilateral” is loosely construed, but it has to be borne in mind that technically speaking rules of recognition and enforcement are by definition unilateral.Google Scholar

136. Cf. Newman, L. W. and Burrows, M., “Setting Aside Arbitral Awards under the New York Convention” N.Y.L.J., 18 11 1997.Google Scholar

137. Under German law, §1061(3) (formerly §1044(4)) ZPO, a “declaration of enforceability” may be set aside if the award has been aside abroad after enforcement was granted in Germany. See e.g. OLG Frankfurt am Main, 10 Nov. 1993, (1994) 40 R.I.W. 686Google Scholar, (1997) 22 Y.C.A. 699.Google Scholar

138. See e.g. Arab Business Consortium International Finance and Investment v. Banque Franco-Tunisienne [1996] Lloyd's Rep. 485, 492 (CA).Google Scholar

139. Cf. OLG Dusseldorf, 10 Jan. 1996, [1997] I.L.Pr. 320Google Scholar, (1996) 2 Int. L. Update 110 (a decision on an anti-suit injunction).Google Scholar

140. In addition to the authorities cited supra n.127, see van den Berg, A. J., “Enforcement of Annulled Awards” (1998) Bull. 9(2) ICC Bull. 1, 56Google Scholar, and op. cit. supra n.18, at p.351.Google Scholar

141. See supra n.3.

142. See supra n.4. Indeed, some laws unequivocally provide that enforcement must be refused if annulment has taken place at the State of rendition; see Code of Civil Procedure, Art. 1076(1)(A) (Netherlands); Code of Civil Procedure, Art.840(5) (Italy) (text in Annex I to Berini, G., “Italy”, in International Handbook of Commercial Arbitration (1994)); Act Concerning Foreign Arbitration Agreements and Awards, Art.7(5) (Sweden) (Act 1929:147, text in Annex II to U. Holmbäck and N. Mangård. “Sweden” idem (1984)).Google Scholar

143. See Art.36(2)(a)(v). The proposal was made during the drafting of the Model Law to abandon the New York Convention Model for that of Art.IX(1) of the European Convention (supra n.82). It was dismissed as “too ambitious and difficult to apply”; see the comments and preparatory materials in Holtzmann, H. M., and Neuhaus, J. E., A Guide to the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration (1989), pp.1061, 10791080.Google Scholar

144. See van den, Berg, op. cit. supra n.140, at p.6.Google Scholar

145. Such would be the situation in English law before the admission of “amiable composition” awards; see Private International Law Committee, Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (Cmd 1515, 1959), para.16.

146. In fact, this was an anticipated effect of the 1981 reform of French law; see Fouchard, P., “L'Arbitrage International en France après le Décret du 12 mai 1981” (1982) 109 J.D.I. 374, 419.Google Scholar That level of certainty should be acceptable for planning business decisions: see further Hayek, F. A., The Road to Serfdom (1944) Chap.VI; J. Raz, “The Rule of Law and its Virtue” (1977) 93 L.Q.R. 195, 198, 204, 210.Google Scholar

147. See Paulsson, , op. cit. supra n.126. That paper elaborates on a theme discussed in two previous ones: “The Case for Disregarding LSAs (Local Standard Annulments) under the New York Convention” (1996) 7 Am. Rev. Int. Arb. 99Google Scholar; “Rediscovering the New York Convention: Further Reflections on Chromalloy” (1997) 12(4) Mealey's Int. Arb. Rep. 20.Google Scholar

148. Cf. European Convention, Art.IX(2).

149. Ct Posner, R. A., “The Jurisprudence of Skepticism” (1988) 86 Mich. L. Rev. 827, 881.Google Scholar

150. Seaford Court Estates v. Asher [1949] 2 K.B. 481, 499 (per Denning LJ, CA).Google Scholar

151. But see Union Nationale des Coopératives Agricoles de Céréales v. Robert Catterall & Co. Ltd [1959] 2 Q.B. 44, 5354, (CA).Google Scholar