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UNITED STATES 1007 B
United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit, 15 December 2020
(Gerardo Jose Guarino v. Productos Roche S.A.)
UNITED STATES 1007 B
The Court of Appeals upheld the first instance decision confirming a Venezuelan award, agreeing with its finding that, under the applicable Venezuelan law, the second respondent was a party to the arbitration agreement, and that he had been given proper notice of the arbitration. The Court of Appeals further dismissed the public policy defense raised by Guarino, who argued that the district court violated policy by finding that he was personally liable under Venezuelan law, when he had not agreed to arbitrate. The Court held that Guarino had agreed to be subject to Venezuelan law, which governed the party’s contract; hence, confirmation of the award applying Venezuelan law was not contrary to US public policy.
See also United States District Court, Southern District of Florida, 9 April 2020
(Productos Roche S.A. v. Iutum Services Corp. et al.)
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.
Invalidity of the arbitration agreement: The court discusses other cases of invalidity of the arbitration agreement, including that there was no agreement at all or that the party was not a signatory thereto, that the incorrect arbitral institution was chosen, etc.
Due process: The court discusses what constitutes “proper notice” of the appointment of the arbitrators or of the arbitration proceedings.
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.