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Procedural Background
This document is a judgment rendered by the Paris Court of Appeal concerning an application by the Republic of Turkey to partially set aside a final arbitral award dated February 13, 2023. The underlying ICC arbitration (Case No. 20273/AGF/ZF/AYZ/ELU) involved a dispute between Turkey and the Republic of Iraq regarding the use of oil pipeline infrastructure and the payment of transportation fees under the 1973 Pipeline Agreements (ITP Agreements) and subsequent amendments. Turkey sought partial annulment of the award pursuant to Article 1520(3) and (4) of the French Code of Civil Procedure, alleging that the tribunal failed to comply with its mandate and violated the adversarial principle.
Tribunal's Mandate and Applicable Law
Turkey argued that the tribunal exceeded its mandate by applying international law rather than French law to the merits of the dispute, contrary to the parties' alleged agreement in the 2010 Amendment. The Court of Appeal rejected this ground, finding that the choice-of-law provision was ambiguous. The Court held that the tribunal properly exercised its authority to interpret the parties' common intent, concluding that the ITP Agreements remained governed by international law while French law applied to the arbitral procedure. The Court emphasized that it does not review the substantive merits of a tribunal's legal determinations absent a clear breach of mandate.
Due Process and the Adversarial Principle
Turkey further contended that the tribunal violated due process by determining the applicable law sua sponte and by rejecting Turkey's document production requests concerning the pricing of oil sold by the Kurdistan Regional Government. The Court dismissed these arguments, noting that the issue of applicable law was extensively debated during both the jurisdictional and merits phases of the arbitration. Regarding document production, the Court reaffirmed that an arbitral tribunal possesses broad discretion to assess the relevance and materiality of requested evidence. The tribunal's refusal to order the production of specific documents did not infringe upon Turkey's right to be heard, as the underlying pricing discrepancies were fully briefed and argued by the parties.
Decision
The Paris Court of Appeal dismissed Turkey's application for partial annulment in its entirety. Consequently, the Court ordered the Republic of Turkey to bear the costs of the proceedings and to pay the Republic of Iraq EUR 200,000 pursuant to Article 700 of the French Code of Civil Procedure.
