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- SPAIN 24 April 2020 Haarslev
SPAIN 24 April 2020 Haarslev
Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Catalunya, 24 April 2020, no. 43/2020
(Haarslev Holding sarl v. Haarlev Invest)
SPAIN 24 April 2020 Haarslev
The Court granted exequatur of an award rendered by an arbitral tribunal of the Danish Institute of Arbitration, dismissing the contention that enforcement would violate public policy because the contract between the parties effectively prohibited the defendant from disposing of its shares in a company, which also constituted a violation of EU and Spanish competition law. The Court stressed that the public policy objection under the New York Convention only concerns the violation of fundamental rights, and does not allow the court to review the arbitrators' interpretation of the contract. In the present case, the arbitrators had deemed the agreement between the parties valid, and had concluded that the defendant was not to be deemed an enterprise in this context for the purpose of competition law. The Court had first denied the request to suspend the enforcement proceeding under Art. VI of the Convention pending an annulment action in Denmark.
The court discusses the principle that the merits of the award may not be reviewed and that the court may only carry out a limited review of the award to ascertain grounds for refusal.
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.
Public policy: The court discusses the effect of other alleged violations of public policy on the recognition and enforcement of an arbitral award, such as contradictory reasons, manifest disregard of the law (US), etc.
The court discusses the conditions for granting adjournment of a proceeding relating to the recognition and enforcement of an arbitral award, and the court’s discretionary power to do so, as well the determination of “suitable security” and the power to request it.