You have been granted with an international arbitral award ruling in your favor and want to enforce it in Monaco, where your debtor's assets are?
The international arbitral award
In Monaco, is considered as an international arbitral award an arbitral award which has connections with foreign jurisdictions such as the place of the seat of the arbitral tribunal, the applicable law to the arbitration procedure, the applicable law to the merits of the litigation, the domicile of the parties, the international nature of the commercial relationship etc.
On the other hand, if an arbitral award is rendered by an arbitral tribunal in Monaco and has main connections with Monaco (domicile of the parties in Monaco, commercial relationship in Monaco...), it will be considered as a domestic award.
International arbitral awards are subject to the United Nations Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (New York, 10 June 1958). Monaco ratified this Convention and declared on the basis of reciprocity that it will apply the Convention to the recognition and enforcement of awards made only on the territory of another contracting State. It also declared that it would apply the Convention only to commercial relationships.
The recognition and enforcement's procedure of arbitral awards in Monaco
The recognition and enforcement's procedure of arbitral awards is the same for international and domestic awards:
- Within 3 days from the date the award has been rendered or later if it is not possible, one of the arbitrators shall file to the General clerk of the First Instance Court the duly authenticated original award. The clerk will save this original and provide the arbitrator with a duly certified copy thereof.
- The claimant shall therefore file to the clerk of the First Instance Court's President anapplication for enforcement with the duly certified copy thereof and also, for international awards, an original agreement of the arbitration clause or a duly certified copy thereof.
An enforcement order to recover assets in Monaco
If the recognition and enforcement order is granted by the First Instance Court's President, the arbitral award will be enforceable in Monaco.
This recognition and enforcement order can be appealed, opposed, or objected. The party against whom the order ruled, can claim that the recognition and enforcement of the award may be refused on the grounds of the United Nations Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards.
As soon as the order is definitive, the order will be enforceable and may be executed to recover any assets of the debtor in Monaco.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.