DENMARK Law and Practice Contributed by: Johannes Grove Nielsen and Camilla Søgaard Hudson, Bech-Bruun
ing, the carrier may not invoke the provisions against a holder of the bill of lading who has acquired it in good faith. Thus, an arbitration clause mentioned in the charterparty is only binding on the holder of a bill of lading if the bill of lading expressly refers to the clause. 6.3 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards Denmark is a party to the 1958 New York Con - vention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards. The general rule is that foreign arbitral awards are recognised and can be enforced in Denmark, except for in a few statutory cases, such as if the arbitral award is clearly incompatible with Danish law or if the award is void. The Danish Arbitration Act is based on the 1985 UNCITRAL Model Law and the 1958 New York Convention. 6.4 Arrest of Vessels Subject to Foreign Arbitration or Jurisdiction Under Danish law, arrest can be obtained if the requirements set out previously concerning arrest are met (see 4. Maritime Liens and Ship Arrests ). The jurisdiction and applicable law of the underlying material claim is irrelevant, and a Danish court will thus order the arrest of a ves - sel even if the relevant claim is subject to foreign arbitration or jurisdiction, due to an arbitration or jurisdiction clause in the relevant contract. 6.5 Domestic Arbitration Institutes Denmark has a domestic arbitral institution, the Danish Institute of Arbitration. It does not spe - cialise in maritime arbitration, but maritime dis - putes are occasionally arbitrated with the Danish Institute of Arbitration. In addition, maritime dis - putes can be arbitrated with the Nordic Offshore
& Maritime Arbitration Association, facilitating international maritime and offshore arbitration in the Nordic countries. Denmark also has a well-established Mediation Institute, and maritime disputes can be mediat - ed with the assistance of the Mediation Institute if the parties so agree prior to or once a dispute arises. During court cases, the courts also nor - mally offer court mediation. The procedure applicable to maritime arbitration and mediation depends on the parties’ agree - ment and on whether the rules of an arbitration or mediation institute have been specified by the parties. In addition to these procedures, the Danish Mari - time and Commercial Court uses expert judges with maritime expertise. Thus, all maritime cases heard before the Maritime and Commercial Court are heard by a panel of three judges: one legal judge and two lay judges with relevant maritime expertise. 6.6 Remedies Where Proceedings Are Commenced in Breach of Foreign Jurisdiction or Arbitration Clauses The ordinary courts may refer a case to arbitra - tion if, on the basis of a request from one of the parties, the court finds that the case has been commenced incorrectly and is in breach of an arbitration clause. However, this presupposes that the court does not declare the clause inva - lid or assess that the subject matter cannot be admitted to arbitration. In the event that arbitration proceedings have already been instituted, the courts alone may decide whether the subject is suitable for arbi - tration.
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