España y el Reconocimiento de Laudos Arbitrales Extranjeros: Banco de Prueba para una Nueva Frontera del Arbitraje en Europa? (Spain and the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitration Awards: Test for a New Frontier for Arbitration in Europe?)

Abstract:     
International Commercial Arbitration if flourishing within the European Union. People refer to it more than ever and, besides, national legislators are enacting new Arbitration Act to the extent that almost all EU Member States have modified the regulation on Arbitration during the last decade. This popularity contrasts with the fact that arbitration remains outside the scope of harmonization of private and private international law undertaken by the European Union. Some very famous ECJ Cases exist in this field but so far no uniform response is foreseen. Despite the high level of uniformity that National Legislations on Arbitration enjoy in Europe some problems remain in practice. This lack of full harmonization may affect the proper functionning of the international market thus impairing the success of the process of harmonization as a whole. The field of recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitration awards is very symptomatic to this respect. The NY Convention of 1958 is not EU Law but it plays this role in practice. Nevertheless, the fact that no EU legislation exists in this area and that no control by EU institutions is possible as to it creates a relevant questions in those situations, as in this case, in which the Convention deserves different (and sometimes contradictory) interpretation by national courts. The article studies this area in depth taking the Spanish situation as regards the implementation of the NY Convention as a test for the previous statement.

Note: Downloadable document is in Spanish.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 18

Keywords: international commercial arbitration, international litigation, harmonization of private law in Europe, New York convention of 1958, recogniation and enforcement of foreign arbitration awards in Spain

JEL Classification: K33, K41, K49

Accepted Paper Series