$650 Million Arbitration Award Not Enforceable Under N.Y. Convention Due to Non-Commercial Relationship, Judge Rules

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A $650 million arbitration award issued against an agency of the Czech Republic is not enforceable under the New York Convention because the underlying dispute was not commercial in nature, a federal judge has ruled.

In an Aug. 14 order, Judge Amy B. Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia found the claims at issue in the arbitration arose from a non-commercial relationship between the parties that was not contractual in nature. The judge further found that the exceptions enumerated in the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act do not apply; therefore, the Czech agency …