A U.S. District Court refused to confirm the award that had been entered by an arbitration tribunal in favor of Getma International against the Republic of Guinea. The award had been annulled by the Common Court of Justice and Arbitration (CCJA) when Guinea complained that the tribunal violated the CCJA Arbitration rules in repeatedly seeking increased arbitrators’ fees from the parties. The CCJA granted the annulment, despite the fact that it had previously advised the tribunal on one occasion to consult with the parties regarding increased fees, because only the CCJA had the ultimate authority to order increased fees, not the parties or the tribunal themselves. Undeterred, Getma attempted to confirm the award in the U.S. District Court, contending that the annulment ran contrary to public policy, citing the New York Convention. The court, however, rejected Getma’s argument, finding that the CCJA was within its authority to annul the award and that the annulment was within the CCJA’s discretion. Getma Int’l v. Republic of Guinea, No. 1:14-cv-01616 (USDC D.D.C. June 9, 2016).
This post written by Joshua S. Wirth.
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