суббота, 18 июня 2016 г.
вторник, 14 июня 2016 г.
Assets Tracing and Enforcement of a Foreign Judgment
The success of any
litigation and arbitration case depends mostly on the capability of the
plaintiff to trace and locate sufficient assets of the defendant’s debtor to
block and freeze the same as security for the satisfaction of any court
decision or arbitral award to be issued in the main court or arbitral
proceedings. The legal teams of BOGATYR & PARTNERS and SOTERIS PITTAS &
Co LLC use the services of their corporate investigators and forensic
specialists to trace and identify hidden assets around the world.
On the Recognition and enforcement of a foreign
Judgment
A judgment that
has become final is enforceable throughout the country where it has been
issued.
But to enforce it
in another country, a special procedure is employed that includes the recognition
of this foreign judgment by virtue of a relevant order by a competent court of
the country where such enforcement is requested. Apart from judgments of
foreign courts, foreign arbitral awards may also be enforced.
For a foreign
judgment or arbitral award to be recognized and enforced in Ukraine, the appropriate
application needs to be led. Courts consider applications for recognition and
enforcement of foreign judgments on the basis of international treaties on
mutual legal assistance or on the principle of reciprocity.
Pursuant to Clause
1, Article 390 of the Civil Procedural Code of Ukraine (CPC), an enforceable
foreign judgment is recognized in Ukraine if its recognition is warranted by
international treaties ratified by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, or on the
principle of reciprocity.
Pursuant to Part
2, Article 390 of the CPC of Ukraine, if the recognition and enforcement of a
foreign judgment depends on the principle of reciprocity, this principle is
deemed active, unless proven otherwise. In addition, the principle of reciprocity
(ad hoc) is also applicable on the grounds that the judgments of Ukrainian
courts are recognized and enforced in another country.
If such reciprocity
is questioned, an answer should be sought from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
of Ukraine. Ukraine is a party to a number of international treaties that
govern international arbitration tribunals, allowing foreign trade disputes to
be resolved through arbitration. A good example is the UN Convention on the Recognition
and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards of 10 June 1958 (the New York
Convention), which came into force for Ukraine on 8 January 1961. This Convention
was adopted with reservations regarding its application, meaning that Ukraine
applies the Convention to recognize and enforce judgments issued in another
signatory state.
Pursuant to Clause
12 of Resolution No. 12 of the Plenary Meeting of the Supreme Court of Ukraine On
the Court Practice of Considering Motions for Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign
Judgments and Arbitral Awards and Cancellation of International Commercial Arbitral
Awards in Ukraine of 24 December 1999, courts consider motions for
recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments within the scope delimited by
it and may not judge such judicial decisions on merits or amend them.
In ling a motion,
the issue of confirmation of the movant’s powers deserves special notice. The
Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kiev dismissed without prejudice a motion led
by a representative of Italy-Ukraine Gas s.p.a. in Case No. 761/38433/15-Ц and
seeking recognition of the award issued by the Arbitration Institute of the
Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, of 19 December 2012, in Arbitration Case No.
V007/2008 based on the claim lodged by Italy-Ukraine Gas s.p.a. against NJSC
Naftogaz of Ukraine on the grounds that the Italian notary only verified the
authenticity of the principal’s signature, not his powers. The Court also noted
that the case materials included only the certificate of registration of Italy-Ukraine
Gas s.p.a. and the translation of its content evidenced that the principal
was the chairman of the board of directors in the company. However, according
to the said extract, the company’s interests should be represented by the
chairman of the administrative council rather than the chairman of the board of
directors. Additionally, as stated in the “Officials” section of the said certificate,
the principal is a board member and concurrently chairman of the board of
directors, incumbent until the approval of the financial statements of 31
December 2013. Nonetheless, the court had not received any evidence that he was
such an of cial when the case was heard. In another Case, No. 1511/2458/2012,
the Illichivsk City Court of Odessa Region, in considering a motion for
recognition of several arbitral awards of the Federation of Oils, Seeds and
Fats Associations (FOSFA), found that some of the awards issued by the FOSFA
were annulled by the High Court of Justice of England citing the lack of jurisdiction
of the arbitration body. This, however, was no obstacle to granting permission
for enforcing these awards. The Illichivsk City Court of Odessa Region
explained its judgment by the fact that the principle of reciprocity was not
present in the given case, which fact served as grounds for its rejection to
recognize the judgment of the High Court of Justice of England.
Given that the
procedural rules of the countries signatories of the New York Convention
differ, the procedure for recognizing a foreign judgment is different in
practice.
Ukraine is not a
European Union member, therefore its mechanism of recognition and enforcement
of foreign judgments does not include elements of EU legislation. Court
judgments issued in states that are not EU members are recognized and
enforced in accordance with Law No. 121(1)/2000.
a) judgments in
civil cases, including family cases;
b) judgments in
criminal cases in the part related to damages.
Regarding the
procedure for the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in
Ukraine, it can be is possible to conclude that if a court Ukraine is not
trying a case based on a dispute between the same parties, regarding the same
subject matter, and on the same grounds; the established deadline for
submitting a foreign judgment for recognition in Ukraine is not exceeded; a
motion seeking cancellation of a given arbitral award is not allowed; the
subject of the dispute is referable to courts under the laws of Ukraine; the
recognition of the said judgment does not threaten the interests of Ukraine;
and there is no relevant agreement with the country where the judgment was
issued, such a foreign judgment may be enforced in Ukraine following the
principle of reciprocity.
Discovery
Orders
Cyprus has become
an international business center thanks to the existence of a wide network of
double taxation treaties, common law legal system, the secure financial and political
environment, etc, and to date more than 250,000 Cypriot companies have been
established, the majority of which hold and own valuable assets in, inter alia,
Russia and Ukraine.
Due to the above,
Cyprus is a unique forum for the freezing of assets which are indirectly or
beneficially owned by persons residing in CIS countries and, more specifically,
Russia and Ukraine.
The adoption of
the common law legal system empowers Cypriot courts to issue so-called “Chabra freezing
injunctions” (i.e. which are injunctions blocking assets, prima facie beneficially
owned by the debtor/ defendant, but are held and legally registered in the name
of a third person).
In addition,
Cyprus courts are empowered to grant discovery orders (i.e. Norwich pharmacal
type, Bankers Trust type, etc.) in order to assist a claimant to plead his
case, to prove his case, to identify other wrongdoers and to trace the assets
of a defendant. Such discovery orders can be applied in the context of substantive
civil proceedings pending before Cyprus courts, or in the context of special
discovery actions for the purpose of obtaining information and evidence to be
used in pending proceedings in Cyprus or abroad, or proceedings to be led in
Cyprus or abroad (i.e. both court and arbitral proceedings).
The discovery
action can be led against service providers who administer the Cypriot or
overseas companies by providing nominee and trustee services, or against local
banks in which the relevant companies keep bank accounts.
In the context of
such discovery actions, applicants may request the court to issue an ex parte
gagging order, blocking the discovery defendant from alerting his clients or
any other person about the pending proceedings.
Through the use of
the mechanism of discovery orders, a claimant (i.e. victim of a wrongdoing, a
creditor, etc.) may be able to build his case by collecting evidence to plead
and prove his claim and to secure his claim by tracing the defendant’s assets.
Conclusion
The legal teams of
BOGATYR & PARTNERS and SOTERIS PITTAS & Co LLC have huge experience in
carrying out forensic investigations and in handling discovery actions, for the
tracing of assets of debtors or wrongdoers and collection of valuable evidence
needed for the successful outcome of a court and arbitration case.
В.Богатырь, управляющий партнер АО «Богатырь и партнеры»: Я всецело поддерживаю возможность для адвокатов занимать должность судьи
«Я всецело поддерживаю возможность для адвокатов занимать должность судьи. По моему мнению, было бы удачным назначение на должность судьи профессионалов, которые принимают участие в судебных процессах в течение определенного периода, например, период 5-7 лет работы в качестве адвоката или прокурора. Это могло бы повысить уровень взаимного уважения участников в процессе, т.к. лица, которые станут судьями после работы адвокатами или прокурорами, смогут понимать все проблемы своих бывших коллег и смогут более адекватно отвечать на процессуальные вызовы, которые нам готовит тот или иной этап судебного процесса или законодательные новшества.
Хорошим примером является привлечение адвокатов в органы законодательной и исполнительной власти – практически во всех органах сегодня мы видим адвокатов. Кроме этого, Высшую квалификационную комиссию судей возглавляет адвокат, в Высшем совете юстиции есть адвокаты. Адвокаты, по моему мнению, одни из самых достойных представителей в органах законодательной и исполнительной власти. Несмотря на то, что дискуссия вокруг предложений от бывших представителей адвокатуры может быть, однако, они повышают уровень дискуссии до профессиональной. И меня, как гражданина, как адвоката, как человека, который задействован в практической юриспруденции, это очень радует.
Думаю, что какая-то часть адвокатов воспользуется возможностью перейти на должность судьи. Конечно, работа судьи – это не свободная профессия адвоката, она отличается и требует большей усидчивости, возможно, большей бюрократии. Не думаю, что все успешные адвокаты будут стремительно переходить в судебную власть. Полагаю, мы увидим адвокатов, которые воспользуются этой возможностью – кому-то это будет престижно, адвокаты старшего возраста смогут реализовываться в менее активном образе жизни (меньше командировок и поездок между различными госорганами). Это будет увеличивать естественный возраст судейского корпуса и придавать судебному процессу надлежащий шарм и степенность».
В.Богатырь, управляющий партнер АО «Богатырь и партнеры»: Я всецело поддерживаю возможность для адвокатов занимать должность судьи
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