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International Arbitration Forum

Ctrans Maritime Services S.L. v. Cemco Cement Trading S.L.

Case summary

At a glance

Parties
Ctrans Maritime Services S.L. (owners) v. Cemco Cement Trading S.L. (charterers)
Case no.
Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Madrid, Auto No. 10/2018, Recurso No. 40/2018 (ROJ: ATSJ M 456/2018)
Court
Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Madrid, Civil and Criminal Chamber, Section 1
Underlying award(s)
Final award of 26 July 2017, rendered in London (identified in the judgment as by "Quadrant Chambers")
Forum and rules
Exequatur under the New York Convention 1958 (Arts. IV and V), Spanish Arbitration Act Art. 46.2, Law 29/2015 (LCJI)
Court
Francisco Javier Vieira Morante (President), Francisco José Goyena Salgado (rapporteur), Jesús María Santos Vijande
Sector
Maritime shipping; charter party
Outcome
Recognition and enforcement refused; the applicant was ordered to pay the costs. No appeal lies.
Amount
Award: USD 410,000 balance of freight plus interest at 4.5% a year from 5 January 2015; costs split 80/20; tribunal fees and expenses of GBP 50,848.48 split 80/20. Exequatur refused.

The dispute

Ctrans Maritime Services S.L., the shipowner, asked the Madrid High Court to recognise and declare enforceable in Spain a final arbitral award of 26 July 2017 made in London against the charterer, Cemco Cement Trading S.L. The dispute arose under a charter party. The award ordered Cemco to pay USD 410,000 as the balance of freight, with interest, and 80% of the costs. It rejected the owners' claims for demurrage at Leixões and for the costs of court proceedings in the Netherlands and Italy. Cemco opposed recognition on two grounds. First, the application had not been filed with the required documents in sworn Spanish translation, in breach of Article IV of the New York Convention. Second, the award gave no reasons, which it said was contrary to Spanish public policy.

Key holdings

  1. The Court refused to admit the documents Ctrans produced at the hearing: the complete award with its reasons, an expert report and two legal opinions. Under Article 265 of the Civil Procedure Act these were basic documents that had to accompany the application. The narrow exception in Article 265.3 did not apply, and admitting them late would have left the opposing party without a proper defence. Legal Ground PREVIO
  2. The award was not made ex aequo et bono, so its legal reasons are an essential and inseparable part of it, even if they are set out in a separate document. Ctrans filed only part of the award, without the reasons or their Spanish translation. This did not meet Article IV of the New York Convention or Article 54.4(a) of the LCJI. Legal Grounds PREVIO, SEGUNDO
  3. The objection that other documents, including the arbitration clause (clause 27) of the charter party, lacked sworn translations was rejected. These were curable omissions, and Ctrans had since filed proper translations. Legal Ground CUARTO A)
  4. Public policy under Article V(2)(b) is read narrowly. It nonetheless covers fundamental rights, including the right to a reasoned decision under Articles 24.1 and 120.3 of the Spanish Constitution. Because the award came without its legal reasons, the Court could not check that it was not arbitrary or contrary to mandatory Spanish law, so recognition was refused. Legal Ground CUARTO B)–C)
  5. Costs were imposed on Ctrans under Article 394 of the Civil Procedure Act. No appeal lies against the decision. Legal Ground QUINTO; operative part

Procedural history

  1. 26 July 2017Final arbitral award made in London orders the charterers to pay USD 410,000 in freight plus interest and costs.
  2. 25 June 2018Decree of the Court's Clerk admits the exequatur application and orders service on the respondent and the Public Prosecutor.
  3. 30 July 2018Decree rules on the motion for reconsideration against the admission decree and treats the translation defects as curable.
  4. 11 December 2018Hearing. The Court refuses to admit the documents Ctrans produces there, including the reasons of the award.
  5. 20 December 2018Auto No. 10/2018 refuses recognition and enforcement of the award, with costs against Ctrans.

Tribunal, counsel and experts

Decided by
For the claimant
María Luisa López-Puigcerver Portillo
For the respondent
Santiago Tesorero Díaz

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Keywords

Summary generated with AI from the published documents — refer to the award for the authoritative text.

Case ID
Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Madrid (High Court of Justice of Madrid), No. ATSJ M 456/2018
Country
Claimant
Ctrans Maritime Services S.L.
Respondent
Cemco Cement Trading S.L.
Section

Court: Spain, Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Madrid (High Court of Justice of Madrid)
Date of decision: 20 December 2018
Case number: ATSJ M 456/2018
New York Convention provisions: IV | V
Source: New York Convention case law case database.