The Federal Court held on appeal that the first instance court did not exceed its mission by examining, for the purposes of an application to recognize and enforce a London award, whether the charterparty between the parties containing the arbitration clause did in fact exist, rather than – as argued by Armada – merely ascertaining that Armada supplied the necessary documents for requesting enforcement. The Court reasoned that under the applicable  New York Convention, the enforcement court must examine whether there is an arbitration agreement in writing between the parties. Far from being an excess of the court’s jurisdiction, an examination of the existence of a valid arbitration agreement is therefore a specific task of the enforcement court. The Court added that some review of the award is necessary in proceedings for the enforcement of foreign awards, as States cannot be expected to accept all foreign decisions without a minimum of control.