NETHERLANDS Law and Practice Contributed by: Yvette Borrius, Emille Buziau, Marit Balkema and Daphne Beunk, Florent B.V.
A request for revocation must be filed within three months after the date the ground for revo- cation was discovered. Setting Aside There are five grounds for setting aside an arbi- tral award (Section 1065, DCCP): • absence of a valid arbitration agreement; • the tribunal was composed in violation of the applicable rules; • breach of mandate by the arbitral tribunal; • lack of signature and/or reasoning; and • the award, or the manner in which it was made, violates public policy. A request for setting aside an award must be filed within three months of the date the arbitral award was sent to the parties (first period) or within three months after the arbitral award was served to the party against whom judgment had been given (second period). If the parties agreed to deposit the award, the request to set an award aside must be filed within three months after the deposit at the district court. After the expiration of this three-month period, an award can still be set aside if it contravenes public order. The court of appeal may, at the request of a party or of its own motion, suspend setting aside pro- ceedings, to put the arbitral tribunal in a position to reverse the ground for setting aside (Section 1065a, DCC). 13.4 Procedure for Enforcing Domestic and Foreign Arbitration Domestic arbitral awards require leave for enforcement (exequatur) from the provisional relief judge of the competent district court before they can be enforced (Section 1062, DCCP). An exequatur is granted upon a request by one of the parties.
Enforcement of an arbitral award may only be refused if, after summary investigation, it seems likely that the award will be set aside or revoked, or if the enforcement concerns a penalty for non- compliance which has been imposed contrary to Section 1056 of the DCCP (Section 1063, DCCP). The possibility to appeal is asymmetric; it is possible to appeal against a refusal of leave for enforcement, but it is not possible to appeal a decision granting leave for enforcement (Sec- tions 1063(4) and (5), DCCP). Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards Foreign arbitral awards may be recognised and enforced in the Netherlands upon the request of a party on the basis of a convention (Sec- tion 1075, DCCP) or Dutch law (Section 1076, DCCP). Requests for an exequatur with regard to foreign arbitral awards are submitted to the court of appeal. Treaty Based If a convention or treaty for the recognition and enforcement of the arbitral award applies, leave for enforcement of a foreign arbitral award may be requested with the court of appeal on the basis of Section 1075 of the DCCP. The exequa- tur proceedings laid down in Sections 985–991 of the DCCP apply, in so far as the applicable convention does not contain provision in deroga- tion thereof. The court of appeal verifies whether all formalities, including those of the applicable convention, have been observed. The appeal possibilities are similar to those described for the enforcement of Dutch arbitral awards. This includes the asymmetric appeal rule, unless this rule leads to a violation of the
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