Presidium of High Arbitration Court of Russia gives wide interpretation to uncertain arbitration clause | Practical Law

Presidium of High Arbitration Court of Russia gives wide interpretation to uncertain arbitration clause | Practical Law

Elena Trusova (Head of group), Goltsblat BLP

Presidium of High Arbitration Court of Russia gives wide interpretation to uncertain arbitration clause

Published on 03 Dec 2009 • Russian Federation
Elena Trusova (Head of group), Goltsblat BLP
The Presidium of the High Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation has given an interesting interpretation of an arbitration clause which contained a misdescription of the arbitral institution.
The interpretation was provided in its recently published decree of 22 September 2009, N 5604/09 (Hebenstreit Rapido v Konditerskaya fabrika Saratovskaya). The High Court clarified that if the venue for arbitration is indicated clearly and there is a contractual provision excluding the competence of state courts, the court should analyse the name of the arbitration institution provided in the clause. If it finds that there is only one arbitral institution that the parties could have been referring to, the fact that it has been misdescribed does not make the arbitration clause pathological.
This decree demonstrates the Russian courts' continued trend of interpreting arbitration clauses widely and benevolently, using a logical approach rather than a formalistic approach. This trend should reassure parties that the arbitration award will be enforced even if there are formal defects in the arbitration clause.