By a decision dated April 28, 2009, the Court of Appeal in Amsterdam granted enforcement of four arbitral awards annulled by the Russian courts under the New York Convention of 1958. The Court of Appeal’s principal reason was: “[S]ince it is very likely that the judgments by the Russian civil judge setting aside the arbitration decisions are the result of a dispensing of justice that must be qualified as partial and dependent, said judgments cannot be recognized in the Netherlands. This means that in considering the application by Yukos Capital for enforcement of the arbitration decisions, the setting aside of that decision [sic] by the Russian court must be disregarded.” In the author’s opinion, the Court of Appeal’s reasoning is at odds with the New York Convention of 1958.
Journal of International Arbitration