SLOVENIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Vesna Cukrov and Veronika Cukrov, Law Firm Cukrov (Odvetniška družba Cukrov o.p., d.o.o.)
correctness of the arbitral tribunal’s legal or factual findings. The purpose of the setting-aside procedure is to ensure compliance with fundamental procedural requirements and the legitimacy of the arbitral pro - cess. 11.2 Excluding/Expanding the Scope of Appeal Under Slovenian law, the parties cannot agree to cre - ate a broader right of appeal against an arbitral award than that provided by the Slovenian Arbitration Act. The principle of finality of arbitral awards means that arbitral awards are not subject to review on the mer - its unless the parties have agreed otherwise within the limits permitted by law. The parties may, however, agree to exclude the possibility of setting aside an arbitral award to the extent permitted under the Arbi - tration Act. 11.3 Standard of Judicial Review Judicial review of arbitral awards is limited to the grounds for setting aside provided by the Arbitration Act. These grounds concern: • fundamental procedural defects; • issues relating to the validity and scope of the arbi - tration agreement; • the constitution of the arbitral tribunal; • arbitrability of the dispute; and • violations of Slovenian public policy. The purpose of judicial review is not to correct alleged errors of fact or law made by the arbitral tribunal, but to ensure the integrity and legality of the arbitral pro - cess.
procity reservation and the commercial reservation, so that the Convention is applied only to awards made in the territory of another contracting state and only to disputes arising out of relationships that are consid - ered commercial under Slovenian law. The Convention provides the principal international framework for the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards in Slovenia. 12.2 Enforcement Procedure Under Slovenian law, the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards are primarily governed by the New York Convention and the Slovenian Arbitra - tion Act. A party seeking enforcement must submit an application to the competent Slovenian court together with the arbitral award and the arbitration agreement, as well as any required translations. The court does not review the merits of the arbitral award. Its review is limited to the grounds for refusal of recognition and enforcement provided by the New York Convention and the Arbitration Act. As regards sovereign immunity, Slovenian law recog - nises the distinction between acts performed in the exercise of sovereign authority (acta iure imperii) and acts of a commercial or private nature (acta iure ges - tionis). A state or state entity may generally invoke immunity in relation to sovereign acts, but such immunity is more limited where the state has acted in a commercial capacity or has agreed to arbitration. Accordingly, a state entity that has entered into an arbitration agreement in connection with commercial activities will generally have limited ability to rely on sovereign immunity to resist enforcement. 12.3 Approach of the Courts Slovenian courts generally adopt a pro-enforcement approach towards the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards. The review conducted by the courts is limited and does not extend to the merits of the dispute. Courts primarily examine whether the pro - cedural and jurisdictional requirements for recognition and enforcement under the Slovenian Arbitration Act and the New York Convention have been satisfied. When assessing foreign arbitral awards, Slovenian courts apply the concept of international public poli - cy rather than domestic public policy in the ordinary
12. Enforcement of an Award 12.1 New York Convention
The Republic of Slovenia is a party to the New York Convention. The Republic of Slovenia became a party to the Convention through succession following the dissolution of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The Republic of Slovenia succeeded to the reserva - tions made by the former Yugoslavia, namely the reci -
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