DENMARK Law and Practice Contributed by: Johannes Hedegaard and Tobias Bøgh, Bruun & Hjejle
4. Arbitral Awards 4.1 Legal Issues Concerning Enforcement of Arbitral Awards In general, Denmark has a favourable stance towards the enforcement of arbitral awards. Denmark is a party to the 1958 Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the “New York Convention”) and has largely replicated the model law of the United Nations Com - mission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) in the Danish Arbitration Act. In accordance with Section 38 of the Danish Arbi - tration Act, an arbitral award made in Denmark or in another country is binding in Denmark and can be enforced in accordance with the provisions set out in the Danish Administration of Justice Act. This is irrespective of whether Denmark is obliged to do so under treaty law, including if the award is rendered in a state that has not acceded to the New York Con - vention, and regardless of whether the arbitral award concerns commercial matters or not. In this regard, the Danish Arbitration Act is more expansive than the New York Convention and the UNCITRAL model law. However, in this regard, the distinction between arbi - tral awards and other types of decisions or state - ments issued by an arbitral tribunal should be noted, as only the former are enforceable. For example, in a case from 2012 (published in the Danish Weekly Law Reports (UfR 2012.3156/1 Ø)), the Eastern High Court ruled that a decision on costs, which was not made by an arbitral award but by a decision notified to the parties by letter, was not enforceable. An arbitral award is characterised by the fact that it ends the parties’ dispute on a particular issue before the arbitral tribunal, and it must fulfill the minimum requirements set out in Section 31 of the Danish Arbi - tration Act as to form and substance to be enforce - able. These requirements include that the award be concluded in writing and signed by all arbitrators, or, alternatively, by a majority of arbitrators, accompa - nied by a statement outlining the reasons why not all arbitrators have signed. Additionally, the award must be dated and specify the location of the arbitration.
Finally, the reasons must be provided with the award, unless the parties have agreed otherwise or the award is on agreed terms. 4.2 Variations in Approach to Enforcement of Arbitral Awards As stated above under section 4.1 Legal Issues Con- cerning Enforcement of Arbitral Awards , all types of arbitral awards, regardless of the country in which they were made and whether the award concerns commercial matters, have binding effect in Denmark and are enforceable. With regard to the approach to enforcement, no distinction is made between Danish and foreign arbitral awards, which are both enforced in accordance with the procedure set out in the Danish Administration of Justice Act. 4.3 Categories of Arbitral Awards Not Enforced Declaratory awards cannot be enforced, nor can orders that are too vaguely worded. Please also refer to section 4.6 Challenging Enforcement of Arbitral Awards . 4.4 Process of Enforcing Arbitral Awards The enforcement of an arbitral award is subject to the same procedural framework as domestic judgments – ie, Chapters 45 to 57a of the Danish Administration of Justice Act. Consequently, the request for enforce - ment must be submitted to a competent bailiff’s court. The party requesting enforcement shall produce a certified copy of the arbitral award and of the arbitra - tion agreement, if it is in writing. In the event that the aforementioned documents are not in Danish, they shall, if deemed necessary by the bailiff’s court, be accompanied by a certified translation into Danish. 4.5 Costs and Time Taken to Enforce Arbitral Awards Please refer to section 2.3 Costs and Time Taken to Enforce Domestic Judgments . 4.6 Challenging Enforcement of Arbitral Awards Section 39 of the Danish Arbitration Act (which is based on Article 36 of the UNICITRAL Model Law), exhaustively lists the grounds on which enforcement of an arbitral award may be refused.
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