COLOMBIA 8 A

Corte Suprema de Justicia, Civil Cassation Chamber, 19 December 2011 

(Drummond Ltd. v. Instituto Nacional de Concesiones – INCO, et al.)

19 - 12 - 2011

COLOMBIA 8 A

Yearbook Yearbook Commercial Arbitration, A.J. van den Berg (ed.), Vol. XXXVII (2012)
Jurisdiction Colombia
Summary

See also Corte Suprema de Justicia, Civil Cassation Chamber, 3 May 2012 (Drummond Ltd. v. Instituto Nacional de Concesiones – INCO, et al.) COLOMBIA 8 A

Related topics
001

The court discusses general questions relating to the interpretation of the Convention as an international treaty, also in respect of the methods of interpretation laid down in the 1969 Vienna Convention; the relationship between the New York Convention and the UNCITRAL Model Law and Recommendation 2006. 

Interpretation of the Convention
106

The court discusses issues relating to the identity of the party against whom enforcement of the arbitral award is sought, including: piercing of the corporate veil, succession, assignment, State or State entity, group of companies, agent or principal, etc. For the related defenses to enforcement, see Art. V(1)(a).

Problems concerning the identity of a party
110

The court discusses the definition of “arbitral award”, and the application of the Convention to the various types of award, including awards on specific performance, awards enjoining a party from certain conduct, declaratory awards, etc. Also, whether preliminary, partial, interim, interlocutory awards, and awards by consent can be enforced under the Convention.

Arbitral award: types
301

The court discusses the principle that the procedure for the enforcement of awards under the Convention is governed by the lex fori, as well as procedural issues (such as the competent enforcement court) not falling under the specific cases of ¶¶ 302-307.

Procedure for enforcement in general
401

The court discusses the general conditions the Convention imposes on a petitioner for seeking recognition and enforcement of an arbitral award – namely, the submission of the original arbitration agreement or arbitral award or a certified copy thereof – and examines in general whether these conditions were complied in the case at issue.

Conditions to be fulfilled by petitioner in general
501

The court discusses questions relating to the general approach taken by the Convention to the grounds for refusal of recognition and enforcement, including its pro-enforcement bias, as well as the system of the Convention, under which recognition and enforcement may only be denied on seven listed grounds and the petitioner has only the obligations set out in Art. IV.

Grounds are exhaustive
508 Ground b: Violation of due process in general
511

Due process: The court discusses various irregularities affecting due process, including letters not sent, names of arbitrators or experts not communicated, language of proceedings and communications, etc.

"Otherwise unable to present his case"
518

Public policy: The court discusses the meaning of (international as compared to domestic) public policy, generally defined as the basic notions of morality and justice of the enforcement State.

Paragraph 2 - Distinction domestic-international public policy
519

Public policy: The court discusses cases in which the subject matter of the award was not arbitrable in the enforcement State on public policy grounds.

Ground a: Arbitrability
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