Court of Cassation, No. 12-25.266

Court of Cassation, First Civil Chamber, 20 November 2013, No. 12-25.266

SOCIETE GIEPAC BOURGOGNE

SOCIETE SAICA PACK FRANCE

vs.

SOCIETE AUTOMATION GROUP

Summary:

The internal or international qualification of an arbitration, on which the system of appeals depends, is determined according to the nature of the economic relations behind the dispute and not according to the will of the parties.

Consequently, violates article 125 of the Civil Procedure Code the judgment which holds that the arbitration clause submits the arbitration to the national law, whereas it is up to the judge to proceed to this qualification

THE COURT OF CASSATION, FIRST CIVIL CHAMBER, delivered the following judgment:

On the first ground, taken in its second branch:

Having regard to article 125 of the Civil Procedure Code;

Whereas, according to the judgment under appeal, by contract of 1st September 2006, the French company Giepac Bourgogne, whose rights are transferred to the company Saica Pack France , acquired from the company Automation Group, whose head office is located in Italy, a set of industrial machines, including two “palletizer” robots intended for loading bundles of cartons; whereas the latter, complaining of malfunctions of one of these robots, initiated arbitration proceedings in application of the arbitration clause inserted in the contract; that, by an award of 24 March 2011, signed by two arbitrators, the arbitral tribunal, ruling as conciliator, ordered Giepac Bourgogne to return the complete elements of the defective robot, to pay Automation Group the sums due for the placed and delivered orders, and ordered Automation Group to pay a certain sum to Automation Group. By a second decision of 18 April 2011, rectified the factual error affecting the initial award and mentioned that one of the three arbitrators had refused to sign it. Automation Group filed an action for annulment of the two awards delivered based on the provisions of the internal arbitration;

Whereas, to annul the arbitral awards on the basis of articles 1473, 1480 and 1484 of the Civil Procedure Code, in their previous wording resulting from the decree of 13 January 2011, the judgment holds that the arbitration is subject to internal law, the arbitration clause had stipulated it;

Whereas in so ruling, while it is not up to the parties to modify the internal or international regime of arbitration, of which the qualification is determined according to the nature of the economic relations behind the dispute, the Court of Appeal, responsible to proceed with this qualification on which the appeal depended, violated the above-mentioned text;

FOR THESE REASONS and without the necessity to rule on the other grounds:

OVERTURNS AND ANNULS, in all its provisions, the judgment delivered on 13 March 2012, between the parties, by the Court of Appeal of Dijon; consequently, returns the case and the parties to the state they were in before the said judgment and, in order to be upheld, refers them back to the Court of Appeal of Besancon;

Condemns Automation group to pay the costs;

Based on article 700 of the Civil Procedure Code, condemns Automation group to pay the company Saica parc France the sum of 3,000 euros;

That on the steps of the public prosecutor at the Court of Cassation, this decision will be transmitted to be transcribed in the margin or following the judgment overturned;

Thus done and judged by the Court of Cassation, First Civil Chamber, and pronounced by the President at a public hearing on 20 November 2013.