From now on the decision of a foreign court may be enforced in Russia even if no special international treaty is in place

Attorneys fr om Pepeliaev Group proved in the Moscow Region Arbitration Court that the decision of a foreign court should be recognised and enforced in the Russian Federation even if no special international treaty is in place. The Russian Supreme Arbitration Court upheld these conclusions in December. The relevant ruling was published on 14 December 2009 on the web site of the Russian Supreme Arbitration Court (Ruling No. VAS-13688/09 of the Russian Supreme Arbitration Court, dated 7 December 2009, on the refusal to transfer the case to the Presidium of the Russian Supreme Arbitration Court).

The Russian Supreme Arbitration Court upheld in its entirety the Ruling of the Moscow Region Arbitration Court and the Resolution of the Federal Arbitration Court for the Moscow Circuit on this case and pointed out that there were no grounds for a supervisory review of the case, thereby sustaining the position of the attorneys of Pepeliaev Group.

On 5 June 2009 the Moscow Region Arbitration Court ruled that the decision of a circuit court of the Kingdom of the Netherlands should be recognised and enforced in the Russian Federation based on the generally accepted principles of international law – principles of reciprocity and international comity.

Varvara Knutova, Senior Attorney, Pepeliaev Group, noted: “The court upheld the position of the attorneys of Pepeliaev Group that the use of a reference to the absence of grounds (clause 1, article 241 of the Russian Arbitration Procedure Code) to refuse to recognise and/or enforce a decision of a foreign court in Russia would constitute a gross violation of the Russian Constitution (clause 4, article 15 and clause 1, article 46).” She added that such refusal would also constitute a violation of a number of international conventions and treaties signed by Russia.

Varvara Knutova explained: “The court also agreed that the recognition and/or enforcement of the decisions of Russian courts in the Kingdom of the Netherlands also constitute unconditional grounds for the recognition and enforcement of the decisions of Dutch courts in Russia based on the generally accepted principles of international law – principles of reciprocity and international comity.”

Higher-instance courts upheld the conclusions of the Moscow Region Arbitration Court.

In the past Russian courts had already confirmed the possibility per se to recognise and enforce the decisions of foreign courts based on the generally accepted principles of international law – principles of reciprocity and international comity. However, in practice the issue was treated differently.

The victory secured by the attorneys from Pepeliaev Group with the support of the Russian Supreme Arbitration Court is the first time ever when a Russian court has recognised and enforced the decision of a foreign court based on the principles of reciprocity and international comity wh ere no special international treaty is in place.

Sergey Pepeliaev, Managing Partner, Pepeliaev Group, is confident that we will now witness new opportunities for the recognition and enforcement of the decisions of foreign courts in Russia. In his opinion, “the absence of a special international treaty between the Russian Federation and a foreign country no longer serves as unconditional grounds for any refusal to recognise and enforce the decision of a foreign court in Russia”.