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ALBANIA 4
Gjykata e Lartë e Republikës së Shqipërisë, Civil Panel, 8 January 2013 (“C.A.E.” Ltd. v. “Energji” Ltd.)
ALBANIA 4
The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the district court, which had declined jurisdiction over a dispute covered by the arbitration clause in the parties’ contract. Albanian parties to a contract subject to Albanian law may submit their disputes to international arbitration, that is, to arbitration outside Albania. The 1958 New York Convention solely applies in respect of such arbitrations; the grounds on which the claimant relied to argue that the clause was invalid concerned arbitrations with seat in Albania. Here, the arbitration clause was valid and the dispute should be referred to arbitration in accordance with Art. II of the Convention. The claimant’s claim that the contract was invalid was irrelevant, as arbitration clauses are autonomous from the contract in which they are contained.
The court discusses the principle of competence-competence, including whether the parties “intended to have arbitrability decided by an arbitrator”, and the separability of the arbitration agreement from the main contract.