英文摘要 |
On January 13, 2011, France adopted a new law on arbitration, which entered into force on May 1, 2011. The new law, which will be embodied in Articles 1442 through 1527 of the French Code of Civil Procedure (CCP), governs both domestic and international arbitration. French law has thus maintained the dualist approach which distinguishes between domestic and international arbitration, continuing to allow a more flexible regime for international arbitration. The reform keeps with the long-standing tradition of innovative and arbitration-friendly arbitration law in France, which has contributed to establishing Paris as one of first-choice seats of arbitration. The new law also contains some important innovations, for instance, concerning domestic arbitration, new article 1489 of the CCP now excludes lodging an appeal against the award, unless otherwise agreed by the parties. The reforms are even greater in the realm of international arbitration. For instance, Article 1522 contains a significant and substantial change concerning the parties' ability to waive their right to seek annulment of an award in front of the national courts at the seat of the arbitration. Another notable innovation is contained in Article 1526, which provides that a challenge of the award does not automatically result in suspension of enforcement proceedings. At the same time, the role of the 'supporting judge' (juge d'appui), a State judge whose role is to facilitate the arbitration process, is reaffirmed and widened. In particular, problems related to the appointment of the arbitrators may now be resolved by this 'supporting judge'. This article will analyze the reform of the French new arbitration law. |