DeHeng Advised Chinese Client on Applying for Recognition
and Enforcement of Chinese Arbitration Award in Saudi Arabia
2020-08-18
Recently, DeHeng's Shenzhen Office has successfully completed a case in which it and DSH Law Firm jointly applied on behalf of certain company for recognition and enforcement of Chinese arbitration award in Saudi Arabia. The DeHeng team led by lawyer Liao Mingxia (Grace) worked with the DSH team led by Mr. Dhari for five years and provided whole-process legal services for the enforcement of the arbitration award in Saudi Arabia.
The client in question was a large foreign trade company in China. After its Saudi buyer defaulted on the payment, it filed an arbitration with the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission in accordance with the arbitration clause agreed in the contract, and obtained an effective arbitration award in 2015. The client hired DeHeng to apply for the enforcement of the arbitration award in Saudi Arabia. On the recommendation of director Jia Huaiyuan of DeHeng's Dubai Office, the DSH Law Firm also provided legal services for this case.
Immediately after receiving the mandate, the Saudi lawyers applied to the local enforcement court for recognition and enforcement of the arbitration award. But due to the malicious transfer of assets by the person subject to enforcement, the enforcement court failed to find any property available for enforcement. Then the enforcement court adopted compulsory measures, including imposing travel bans, freezing bank accounts, and imprisonment, to force the person subject to enforcement to submit a deposit to suspend the implementation of the aforementioned measures. Later, the person subject to enforcement filed an objection to the enforcement court and the appeal court on the grounds that there was no arbitration clause with the applicant. The project team explained relevant Chinese laws to the court and provided relevant evidence. The appeal court finally rejected the objection of the person subject to enforcement and transferred the deposit equal to the principal of the credit to the execution applicant.
The DeHeng team, led by partner Liao Mingxia (Grace) and with primary support from lawyers Qiu Ze and Xu Yu, assisted the applicant in preparing and providing the materials required for application for recognition and enforcement of the arbitration award, as required by Saudi lawyers. They explained to Saudi lawyers relevant Chinese laws, provided them with corresponding Chinese legal support, contacted domestic arbitration institutions and provided explanations and supporting documents required by Saudi courts. They also did the daily follow-up of this case.
Over the past five years, lawyers from China and Saudi Arabia have exchanged hundreds of emails, which are witness to their diligence and professionalism. After the case was successfully concluded, the client wrote touching emails to Chinese and Saudi lawyers, allowing them to deeply appreciate the value and sense of honor that came with the job. In the future, DeHeng will continue to leverage its global legal service network and advantages in providing foreign-related legal services, and provide high-quality legal services to Chinese and foreign clients as always.
