Originally from International Arbitration Court Decisions - 3rd Edition

SUPREME COURT (HOGE RAAD),

THE NETHERLANDS DECISION ON 5 DECEMBER 2008 CASE NO. C07/166HR (LJN: BF3799; NJ 2009, 6)

Subject-matter:
Annulment of an arbitral award made in The Netherlands due to defective signature. The award was signed only by two of the three arbitrators, while the declaration that the third arbitrator had refused to sign the award, was not signed by these two arbitrators.

Findings:
Annulment upheld by the Dutch Supreme Court (Hoge Raad). The ground for annulment set out in Article 1065(1)(d) of the Dutch Code of Civil Procedure sanctions, among other things, the signature requirements of Article 1057 of the Dutch Code of Civil Procedure. If a minority of the arbitrators refuses to sign the award, a declaration to that effect signed by the majority must be recorded at the end of the award. These signature requirements aim to safeguard the collegial nature of the arbitral tribunal’s decision-making. These requirements pertain to the essence of an arbitral award; therefore, non-compliance must result in the annulment of the arbitral award.

Parties:
Claimant: BURSA BŰYŰKSEHIR BELEDIYESI (Turkish)
Defendants: 1. GŰRIS INSAAT VE MŰHENDISLIK A.S. (Turkish)
2. SIEMENS A.G. (German)
3. SIEMENS SANAYI VE TICARET A.S. (Turkish)
4. TŰVASAS TŰRKIYE VAGON SANAYI A.S. (Turkish)

Place of court proceedings:
The Hague, The Netherlands

Applicable law:
Dutch Law

Place of arbitral proceedings:
The Netherlands