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UNITED STATES 1074
United States District Court, District of Columbia, 17 November 2023, Case No. 14-1996
(Hulley Enterprises, Ltd. v. Russian Federation)
UNITED STATES 1074
The District Court denied the Russian Federation’s motion to dismiss a petition to enforce three Dutch awards rendered in ECT arbitration on grounds of sovereign immunity, holding that the state was not immune because the arbitration exception in the Federal Sovereign Immunities Act applied. This decision was vacated and remanded on appeal (UNITED STATES 1087).
The court discusses issues relating to the quality of the parties, as physical or legal persons against whom enforcement of an arbitral award is sought, including the incapacity of a State to enter into an arbitration agreement, and questions relating to sovereign immunity. For the related defenses to enforcement, see Art. V(1)(a).
The court discusses the relevance and determination of the commercial nature of the relationship underlying the award, including in the context of contractual and non-contractual relations.
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.