ROMANIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Cosmin Vasile and Violeta Saranciuc, Zamfirescu Racoți Vasile & Partners
the case in proportion to the admission/rejection of the claim/defence. With respect to the arbitrators’ fees and expenses, according to the Code of Civil Procedure, unless the parties agreed otherwise, each shall bear the costs of its appointed arbitrator, whereas the costs incurred by a sole arbitrator or by the presiding arbitrator are to be equally shared by the parties.
The request to set aside the arbitral award may be filed within one month of service of the award to the parties, unless the request is grounded on the subse - quent issuance of the Constitutional Court, in which case the time limit is three months after publication of that court’s decision. Certain reasons for setting aside an arbitral award may be deemed waived if they are not raised before the arbitral tribunal at the start of the process (particularly those relating to the jurisdiction and constitution of the arbitral tribunal). A request to set aside is subject to a fixed court fee under the law. The jurisdiction to settle the set-aside claim belongs to the Court of Appeal of the county where the arbi - tration took place. The ruling issued by the Court of Appeal is subject to a higher appeal. 11.2 Excluding/Expanding the Scope of Appeal The parties cannot waive the right of appeal or chal - lenge to an award by agreement before the dispute arises. The Code of Civil Procedure provides that any agreement to the contrary is null and void. The parties may waive the right to appeal only after the award is rendered. The parties cannot expand the scope of appeal. 11.3 Standard of Judicial Review Romanian law does not provide for the concepts of deferential or de novo as standards of review. The merits of the case may be reviewed by the Court of Appeal subsequent to the admission of a set-aside action in the following cases: • the dispute was non-arbitrable; • the arbitration agreement did not exist or was inva - lid or ineffective; or • the arbitral award was rendered after expiry of the time limit, even though at least one party submit - ted its intention to object to the late issuance of the award and the parties opposed the continuation of the proceedings after expiry of the time limit. In all other cases of set-aside, the Court of Appeal will refer the litigation to the arbitral tribunal for a new judgment to take place, if at least one of the parties
11. Review of an Award 11.1 Grounds for Appeal
The parties may appeal an arbitral award by means of a set-aside claim, on one of the following grounds: • the dispute was non-arbitrable; • the arbitration agreement did not exist or was inva - lid or ineffective; • the constitution of the arbitral tribunal was not in accordance with the arbitration agreement; • the party requesting the setting aside of the award was not duly notified of the hearing when the main arguments were heard and was absent when the hearing took place; • the arbitral award was rendered after expiry of the time limit, even though at least one party submit - ted its intention to object to the late issuance of the award and the parties opposed the continuation of the proceedings after expiry of the time limit; • the award granted something that was not request - ed (ultra petita) or more than was requested (plus petita); • the award failed to mention the tribunal’s decision on the relief sought and did not include the reason - ing behind the decision, the date and place thereof or the signatures of the arbitrators; • the award violated public policy, mandatory legal provisions or morality; or • subsequent to issuance of the final award, the Constitutional Court declared unconstitutional the legal provisions challenged by a party during the arbitral proceedings or other legal provisions included in the challenged piece of legislation that are closely related to, and inseparable from, those challenged.
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