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Cardno v. Central Bank of Iraq, Judgment of the Paris Court of First Instance, July 17, 2026

17 Jul 2026
Cardno Middle East Limited v. Central Bank of Iraq, ICC Case No. 26290/AYZ/ELU
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Judgment of the Paris Court of First Instance (French)
Document Details:
LISTED PARTICIPANTS
Judgment of the Paris Court of First Instance (French)
Participants listed are for this document only and may not include all participants involved in the entire case. Always consult the original documents.
Claimant appointee
Respondent appointee
Tribunal/Panel chair
Arbitrator(s)
Sole Arbitrator
ICSID Annulment Committee president
ICSID Annulment Committee members
WTO Appellate Body members
WTO Appellate Body chair
Judges
Marie Cornet
Claimant's counsel
Jean-Yves Garaud
Claimant's law firm
Respondent's counsel
Michaël Schlesinger, Laure Hue de la Colombe
Respondent's law firm
Other counsel
Claimant's expert
Claimant's expert firm
Respondent's expert
Respondent's expert firm
Claimant's witness
Respondent's witness
Other witnesses
Tribunal secretary
Tribunal assistant
Third-party funder
Entities
Cardno Middle East Limited, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Archipel, Banque de France, Banque Centrale d'Irak, Iraq
Country
France
Print reporter
Document Summary
Judgment of the Paris Court of First Instance (French)
This summary note is machine-generated. Always consult the original materials.

Procedural Background

This judgment was rendered by the Execution Judge (Juge de l'Exécution) of the Paris Judicial Court on July 17, 2026. The proceedings were initiated by the Central Bank of Iraq seeking the retraction of an ex parte order dated May 6, 2026, which had authorized Cardno ME Limited to execute a saisie-attribution (attachment) against funds held by the Banque de France. The underlying debt stemmed from an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitral award rendered on February 26, 2023, which had been recognized in France. The Banque de France voluntarily intervened in the proceedings to support the retraction of the attachment order.

Legal Issues and Parties' Positions

The principal legal issue concerned the sovereign immunity from execution of foreign central bank assets under Article L. 153-1 of the French Monetary and Financial Code. The Central Bank of Iraq, supported by the Banque de France, argued that the attached funds constituted foreign exchange reserves, which are presumptively immune from execution. Cardno ME Limited requested a stay of proceedings pending a discovery action in the United States, arguing that the burden of proof regarding the commercial allocation of the funds should be reversed or that the funds were used for private commercial activities.

Court's Analysis

The Court rejected Cardno ME Limited's request for a stay, noting that the burden of proof under Article L. 153-1 rests strictly on the creditor seeking execution. To overcome the statutory presumption of immunity, the creditor must establish that the assets are held by the foreign central bank for its own account and are specifically allocated to a principal activity governed by private law. The Court found that Cardno ME Limited failed to satisfy this dual requirement, relying instead on mere assertions and the speculative outcome of foreign discovery. Furthermore, the Court held that the generation of yield on foreign exchange reserves, consistent with International Monetary Fund guidelines, does not recharacterize such sovereign assets as commercial funds.

Decision

The Execution Judge declared the voluntary intervention of the Banque de France admissible and rejected Cardno ME Limited's request for a stay of proceedings. The Court retracted the May 6, 2026 ex parte order and ordered the immediate release (mainlevée) of the attachment. Finally, Cardno ME Limited was ordered to pay the costs of the proceedings, alongside €20,000 to the Central Bank of Iraq and €3,000 to the Banque de France pursuant to Article 700 of the French Code of Civil Procedure.