GEORGIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Lasha Nodia, Giorgi Kekenadze and Ani Akophashvili, Nodia, Urumashvili and Partners
either directly in the agreement or by reference to the applicable arbitration rules. Generally, the arbitral tribunal has jurisdiction to decide on its own costs. Usually, however, the relevant body under the applicable arbitration rules makes a deci - sion on the amount of the advance costs before the tribunal is formed and before the parties are required to pay such advance costs. As for the approach taken by tribunals seated in Georgia, they usually follow a “costs follow the event” approach. The Law of Georgia on Arbitration entitles parties to request the annulment of the award. In such cas - es, applications are heard by appellate courts. The grounds for appealing an arbitral award in Georgia are similar to the grounds provided under the UNCITRAL Model Law ‒ namely, a party may request an annul - ment if: • a party was legally incompetent when they entered into the arbitration agreement or did not receive the support they were supposed to receive from a legal guardian in relation to the issues in dispute; • the arbitration agreement is void according to the law chosen by the parties, and in absence of a choice of law provision, in accordance with the laws of Georgia; • a party was not given proper notice of the appoint - ment of an arbitrator or proper notice of the arbitration proceedings (or was otherwise unable to 11. Review of an Award 11.1 Grounds for Appeal present their case or protect their interests); • the award settles a matter that was not in dis- pute or the award contains a decision on matters beyond the scope of the arbitration request ‒ if the ultra vires decision(s) can be separated from the legitimate decision(s), the award will only be partially set aside; • the constitution of the arbitral tribunal or the arbi - tral procedure did not comply with the arbitration agreement or the Law of Georgia on Arbitration; • the dispute is non-arbitrable; or • the award violates Georgian public policy.
The Law of Georgia on Arbitration requires that such challenge must be submitted within 90 days after receipt of the arbitral award by the party and the dura - tion of such challenge proceedings must not exceed 30 days from the admissibility of the relevant motion/ challenge. The court is obliged under the Law of Geor - gia on Arbitration to render a decision within such 30 days. However, in practice, annulment proceedings usually last up to several months. Challenging an award does not automatically suspend the process of recognition and enforcement and the judge shall make a relevant decision upon the request of a party. 11.2 Excluding/Expanding the Scope of Appeal Up until now, Georgian courts have not reviewed a case concerning the exclusion of expansion of the scope of appeal. However, amendment of the scope of review is unlikely to be permissible under the Geor - gian legislation. 11.3 Standard of Judicial Review The standard of review varies depending on the sub - ject matter and the parties involved. Provided that the case concerns B2B transactions, the court is likely to apply a more differential review. However, the stand - ard applied by courts is stricter where a consumer or a natural person is a party to arbitration proceedings. Mostly in such cases, the court ‒ when reviewing com - pliance with Georgian public policy – will examine the merits of the case. Nonetheless, as mentioned previously, courts are more reluctant to undertake such a review in B2B cas - es. Various courts have stressed that “when reviewing a claim to annul an arbitral award, the court does not examine the merits of the case, determine the factual circumstances, or assess the evidence”.
12. Enforcement of an Award 12.1 New York Convention
Georgia is party to the New York Convention. How - ever, Georgia has not made any declaration and/or reservations upon its ratification.
260 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook