Foreign Arbitral Awards Exequatur in the Republic of Moldova Risks and Benefits

The national acts include the Civil Procedure Code No. 225 of 30 May 2003, the Law on International Commercial Arbitration No. 24 of 22 February 2008, and the Enforcement Code No. 443 of 24 December 2004. These laws have undergone significant amendments since their adoption, with the most recent changes occurring in 2012-2014 and 2010, respectively. The international normative acts in the field of recognition of court and arbitral awards to which the Republic of Moldova has adhered include the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (New York, 10 June 1958), the European Convention on International Commercial Arbitration (Paris, 21 April 1961), the Administrative arrangement for the application of the European Convention on International Commercial Arbitration (Paris, 7 December 1962), the Convention on Legal Assistance and Legal Relations in Civil, Family and Criminal Matters (Minsk, 22 January 1993), and the Protocol to the Convention on Legal Assistance and Legal Relations in Civil, Family and Criminal Matters of Minsk 1993. The Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (New York, 10 June 1958) provides a definition of "foreign arbitral award" as an award made in the territory of a State other than the State where the recognition and enforcement of such awards are sought, and arising out of disputes between persons, whether physical or legal. The Convention also sets an alternative criterion to determine the "nationality" of an arbitral award: to be made in the territory of a foreign State (a positive criterion); or it should not be considered a national award in the Republic of Moldova (a negative criterion). The Exequatur procedure of foreign arbitral awards in the Republic of Moldova involves the submission of an application to the competent court, which is the court under whose jurisdiction the enforcement shall be made. If the debtor has no residency or headquarters in the Republic of Moldova or when the residence is unknown, the competent court is the court in which jurisdiction the debtor's goods under enforcement are located. The application must be drafted in accordance with the requirements set forth in the Law on International Commercial Arbitration, and the court shall examine the application within the limits set forth in the Civil Procedure Code. The grounds for refusal to recognize and enforce a foreign arbitral award include non-compliance with the requirements for drafting an application, non-compliance with the examination limits, and non-compliance with the grounds for refusal set forth in the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards. The Merchant Outpost Case and the JSC HORUS Case are examples of national jurisprudence regarding the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards in the territory of the Republic of Moldova. The risks associated with defective Exequatur procedures include the non-recognition and non-enforcement of foreign arbitral awards, which can lead to a lack of confidence in the arbitral process and a decrease in the effectiveness of international commercial arbitration. The remedies for defective Exequatur procedures include legislative remedies, institutional remedies, and individual remedies. The legislative remedies include the amendment of the Law on International Commercial Arbitration and the Civil Procedure Code to clarify the requirements for drafting an application and the examination limits. The institutional remedies include the establishment of a specialized court to handle Exequatur procedures and the provision of training to judges and court officials on the Exequatur procedure. The individual remedies include the provision of assistance to parties in drafting applications and the provision of information on the Exequatur procedure.