The District Court of Limassol refused to recognize an arbitral award issued by the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris.  

The District Court of Limassol refused to recognize an arbitral award issued by the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris.  The respondents opposed, inter alia, on the basis that the Applicants failed to submit the arbitration agreement before the Court.  They also argued that there was no valid agreement to arbitrate between the parties, on the basis of the reasoning of the Court of the European Union in Slowakische Republik v Achmea BV, Case C-284/16.  The Respondents further argued that the recognition and/or enforcement of the Arbitral Award on the basis of Article 9 of the BIT between the Republic of Poland and the Republic of Cyprus would be contrary to public policy as it would have been contrary to fundamental provisions of EU Law.  The reasoning of the EC in Achmea had been previously cited by the Applicants in the foreign arbitration proceedings in support of their opposition to the respondents’ claims in the arbitration.  The president of the Limassol DC decided that there was no valid arbitration agreement before it. The Court also found that the Applicants were estopped from alleging otherwise, due to their submissions (based on Achmea) in the foreign arbitration proceedings.  Consequently the application did not comply with the provisions of Law no.101/87 and Law no. 84/79 in order for the burden of proof to be transferred to the Respondents and the Application was dismissed.

The respondents were represented by L. Papaphilippou & Co, LLC.