Recognition and Enforcement of Court Decisions in Georgia
The issue of recognition and enforcement of foreign court and arbitration decisions is regulated by the Georgian Law on Private International Law, the Georgian Law on Arbitration, and the Georgian Civil Procedure Code.
Georgia recognizes a decision made by a foreign court. Exceptions to this rule are cases when:
- a foreign country does not recognize a decision made by Georgian courts; the foreign court that issued the decision is not considered competent in accordance with Georgian legislation;
- the case falls under the exclusive jurisdiction of Georgia;
- there is already a legally effective decision of a Georgian court on the same legal dispute between the same parties or a foreign court decision has been issued on the same legal dispute between the same parties, which has already been recognized in Georgia;
- in accordance with the legislation of the country that issued the decision, the party was not warned of the summons to the court by delivering the document or other procedural violations occurred;
- a court proceeding is underway in Georgia between the same parties on the same issue and on the same grounds; the decision contradicts the fundamental legal principles of Georgia.
The issue of recognition of a foreign court decision will be considered by the Supreme Court of Georgia.
The issue of enforcement of a court decision of a foreign country is taken after the relevant petition has been filed by the interested party, and the decision on the said matter is within the competence of the Supreme Court of Georgia.
For the execution of the above-mentioned petition, the interested party must attach to his or her petition a certified copy of the foreign court decision and a Georgian translation, and a certificate of the entry into force of the decision and the necessity of its execution, unless this is not clear from the text of the petition.
The Supreme Court shall render a decision within 6 months, and the state fee in the Supreme Court shall be 5 percent of the value of the subject of the dispute, but not less than 300 GEL, and not more than 6,000 GEL for an individual and 8,000 GEL for a legal entity.
The recognition and enforcement of an arbitration award shall be carried out in the same manner as the recognition and enforcement of court decisions. In accordance with Article 44 of the Law of Georgia on Arbitration, regardless of the state in which it was made, it shall be binding and shall be enforced upon submission of a written petition to the court.
The Supreme Court of Georgia is the court authorized to make decisions on the recognition and enforcement of arbitration awards made outside Georgia. For the recognition and enforcement of an arbitration award, a party must submit a duly certified original of the arbitration award, and if the arbitration award or agreement is not made in Georgian, a duly certified translation. The enforcement of the award is carried out on the basis of a court ruling, in accordance with the Law of Georgia “On Enforcement Proceedings”. The petition is sent by the interested party to the other party, which may submit a response within 7 days of its receipt, and the court must issue a ruling no later than 30 days after the expiration of this 7-day period.
The state fee for the recognition and enforcement of an arbitration award is 150 GEL.
The 1958 New York and Minsk Conventions
Georgia is a member of the 1958 New York Convention and the Minsk Convention, therefore, when considering issues of recognition and enforcement of foreign court and arbitration decisions, these conventions have the upper hand due to the hierarchy.
For the application of the 1958 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Arbitral Awards, it is important to have an arbitral award made in the territory of one country, the recognition and enforcement of which must be carried out in another state. To recognize an arbitral award made in a foreign country, a party (interested person) must submit:
- The original or a duly certified copy of the arbitration award;
- The original or a duly certified copy of a written agreement by which the parties undertake to submit to arbitration all or some of the disputed claims that have arisen or may arise between them due to any specific contractual or other legal relationship.
Recognition and enforcement of foreign court and arbitration decisions is a rather delicate, time-consuming and detailed procedure. We will help you manage this process from the collection and preparation of documentation to the adoption of a court decision and the conduct of enforcement proceedings based on it.
Authors: Iashagyan Oksana, Svanidze Melano
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