Originally from:
Stockholm International Arbitration Review (SIAR) 2007-2
To view full journal at the subscription rate:
Stockholm International Arbitration Review (SIAR)
Preview Page
SNF V CYTEC INDUSTRIE:
NATIONAL COURTS WITHIN THE EC APPLY
DIFFERENT STANDARDS TO REVIEW
INTERNATIONAL AWARDS ALLEGEDLY
CONTRARY TO ARTICLE 81 EC
Pierre Heitzmann and Jacob Grierson*
1. Introduction
Since the decision of the European Court of Justice in Eco Swiss China vs.
Benetton International case ("Eco Swiss")1 and the Thalès vs. Euromissile case
("Thalès") decision rendered by the Paris Court of Appeal, there has been
a controversy among arbitration practitioners and scholars about the degree
and scope of review of awards deciding EU competition law issues.2
In two recent decisions rendered in France and in Belgium (which are
still subject to appellate proceedings in both jurisdictions), the courts
applied different standards to review the same award (the "SNF award"),
and thus reached radically different results: while the recognition and
enforcement of that award was granted in France in March 2006 (the
"French SNF case"),3 both that award and an earlier partial award were
annulled in Belgium in March 2007 as being contrary to Article 81 EC (the
"Belgian SNF case").4
2. Background Facts
The arbitral awards recognized by the Paris Court of Appeal and
annulled by the Tribunal de première instance de Bruxelles (the "TPI") related to
two long-term contracts for the supply of acrylamide ("AMD") by Cytec, a
Dutch company, to SNF, a French company. AMD, a chemical compound
often used as a water-soluble thickener, is an essential raw material for
products manufactured by SNF. The first supply contract (the "1991
Contract") was entered into in 1991 and was to run until June 30, 1995, but
was replaced by a second contract (the "1993 Contract"), which was
concluded on October 1, 1993.
Pierre Heitzmann is a partner at Jones Day. Jacob Grierson is a European Counsel at Jones Day. They wish to thank Laurence Marquis of Jones Day and Benoît Champon for their assistance in researching this article and in translating the SNF v Cytec Industries cases.
