Cyprus: The strict approach of the provisions laid under the New York Convention on the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards
In the recent case of Ukrainian Vodka Company Ltd v Nemiroff International Limited,the Applicant requested an order of the Court permitting the enforcement of two Arbitral Awards issued in favor of the Applicant and against Nemiroff International Limited. It was highlighted by the District Court of Nicosia amongst others that during its submission of the application, the Applicant should provide (i) a duly authenticated original or certified copy of the arbitral award; and (ii) a duly certified original or certified copy of the arbitration agreement. Furthermore pursuant to the New York Convention, if the Arbitral Award is drafted in a language which is not the official language of the country where the award will be enforced, the documents must be translated into the official language of that country and certified by an official, sworn translator or a diplomatic or consular agent.
In this particular case, the application for the enforcement of the two Arbitral Awards was challenged on the grounds that whilst the relevant documents included the signature of the Director of the Press and Information Office of the Republic of Cyprus, they had not been certified by an official, sworn translator as required by law. This position was accepted by the District Court of Nicosia which stated that because the translator was not an official, sworn translator, diplomatic or consular agent, the Director's signature was relevant only to the fact that the translation had been carried out by that individual but it did not extend to verifying the accuracy of the content of the translation.
In light of the above, the court rejected the application for enforcing the two Arbitral Awards. This case is an example of a strict approach applied to the provisions of the New York Convention which need to be fulfilled in order for the application for enforcing an Arbitral Award to be satisfied.
For further information on this topic please contact
Ms. Nada Starovlah (nstarovlah@pittaslegal.com) at SOTERIS PITTAS & CO LLC,
by telephone (+357 25 028460) or by fax (+357 25 028461)
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