Medici has once again been recognised by Le Point in its guide to the best law firms in France for 2025, in the ‘Arbitration Law’ category.

We are sincerely grateful to our clients and peers for their continued trust and support. None of this would be possible without our team, whom we would like to thank warmly.

Medici Alert???? #Exequatur and #Statute of Limitations – What is the statute of limitations for requesting the exequatur of a foreign arbitral award? 5 years, according to  the Versailles Court of Appeal’s decision dated December 10, 2024 (Case No. 23/03647).

ℹ️ Context: This decision fills a legal gap: until now, case law had only addressed the statute of limitations for requesting the exequatur of a foreign judgment and had ruled in this regard that no statute of limitations applied. However, there was no mention of the exequatur of arbitral awards (Civ. 1, January 11, 2023, Case No. 21-21.168).

✅ Solution: The Court of Appeal thus ruled that the general statute of limitations period of 5 years (Article 2224 of the civil code) applies for requesting the exequatur of an award – foreign in this case. One should bear in mind that this period is distinct from the one applicable to the enforcement of an award after its exequatur, which is 10 years (Article L. 111-4 of the Civil Code of Enforcement Procedures – “CCEP”).

To reach this conclusion, the Court:

1. Exclude the law of the country where the arbitration seat is located (in this case, New York) in favor of the independence of the award from any state legal system;

2. Concludes that the action for the exequatur of an arbitral award, unlike that of a foreign judgment, must be subject to a statute of limitations; otherwise, it would be imprescriptible and therefore contrary to French international public policy;

3. Applies the general 5-year statute of limitations because (a) the 10-year period provided by Article L. 111-4 CCEP does not apply since the award is not yet enforceable and (b) the action for exequatur falls within the category of actions covered by Article 2224 of the Civil Code.

Finally, the Court specifies that the statute of limitations begins to run from the date of the award – not from its notification.

➡️ Impact: Will the solution adopted by the Court for foreign awards apply to awards rendered in France? This question arises because the nature of the recourses against these two types of awards is not identical and thus the solution adopted for foreign awards may not necessarily apply to awards rendered in France. Will the Working Group on the reform of French arbitration law address this issue?

Caroline Duclercq and Valérie Kasparian

We are very pleased that our firm has been ranked for the second consecutive year by Chambers and Partners in the "Chambers France Guide 2025" in international arbitration. Even more, we are extremely proud that our partner Marie-Laure Bizeau is included in the "Ranked Lawyer Band 3" in international arbitration as well!

It is an honor to see our firm and our partner listed alongside the top international arbitration firms, just a few years after the creation of Medici.

We are sincerely grateful to our clients and peers for taking the time to respond to Chambers and Partners' questions and interviews, as well as for their ongoing support.

A big thank you to the entire team for their remarkable efforts, dedication, and enthusiasm.

Link to the rankings: Medici, France 2025 | Chambers Profiles

We are very pleased that the Firm has once again been recognised for its expertise in arbitration in Africa:

• Medici as "Excellent" in the "Africa Desk - International Arbitration & Litigation" category.
  
  
• Our partner Caroline Duclercq as a "Highly Recommended" arbitrator in the "Africa Desk - Arbitration" category.

We are sincerely grateful to our loyal clients and peers for their constant support.

A big thank you to the entire team for their outstanding efforts, dedication and enthusiasm.

To discover our rankings, click here: Medici Law, Caroline Duclercq

Medici Alert???? #Fraud and #Annulment proceedings – Fraud by a private operator towards a public entity affecting only their contractual relationship: is the international public policy of direction concerned? No, the Court of Appeal of Paris ruled in its decision of 21 January 2025 (Case No. 23/05511).

ℹ️ Context: In arbitration, a party that fails to raise an irregularity in a timely manner during the arbitration process is deemed to have waived the right to invoke it (Article 1466 of the French Civil Procedure Code) – unless it pertains to the international public policy of direction (IPP).

???? Question: The Court had to determine whether the alleged fraudulent actions of a private operator towards a public entity fell under the IPP of direction. The alleged actions involved purported deception by the private operator about its actual experience, issuing false invoices, and making questionable payments. However, the public entity, which had chosen not to participate in the arbitration, only raised the issue of fraud before the sole arbitrator, Bassam Mirza, after the debates had concluded and were not reopened. The public entity argued that it could raise the issue before the annulment judge on the grounds that it fell under the IPP of direction.

✅ Solution: The Court of Appeal rejected these arguments. It decided that the alleged fraud did not fall under the IPP of direction, as the alleged fraudulent actions "only affected the contractual relationship" in question, even if they could constitute violations of local law, given that:

(i) no corruption of public officials was alleged,

(ii) no public assets were involved – the alleged embezzlement concerned the public entity’s own assets "in the administration of its private interests" and not "in the context of fulfilling its general interest missions," and

(iii) the embezzlement involved a private operator and not a public agent.

Thus, the Court found that the public entity, having failed to invoke the fraud during the arbitration hearings without legitimate reason, while being aware of it, could no longer rely on it during the annulment proceedings and thus these grounds were declared inadmissible.

➡️ Impact: The Court of Appeal of Paris demonstrates a desire to limit the scope of the IPP of direction by excluding purely contractual fraud, even when committed against a public entity. Practitioners should therefore ensure they clearly distinguish the fraud related to the law and corruption from fraud that is "purely" contractual. However, will this boundary always remain so clear?

Marie-Laure Bizeau and Valérie Kasparian

Medici is proud to announce that its partners have once again been recommended for the Category France - Arbitration in the prestigious Lexology Index and Global Arbitration Review, 2025 edition.

These distinctions are the result of the work of the entire Medici team, to whom we extend our warmest thanks. The firm would also like to warmly thank its clients and peers for their trust and recommendations.

Link to Lexology 2025: France - Reports - Lexology Index - Lexology

To mark the back-to-office season, Caroline DUCLERCQ provides a detailed analysis of the latest case law concerning the exercise by the debtor of its right to withdrawal following the assignment of contested claims in an article published in Les Cahiers de l'Arbitrage, 2024-2, p. 477 et seq.

This article focuses on two major decisions rendered on February 28, 2024 in which the French Supreme Court put an end to a 15-year saga by redefining the conditions under which the debtor’s right of withdrawal may be exercised in the context of judicial proceedings against international arbitration awards.

We extend our sincere thanks to Charles Kaplan, Charles Nairac, and Priscille Pedone for their trust.

Medici continues to expand with the arrival of Maria Mironova, who joins the firm as an associate.

Prior to joining Medici, Maria practiced international arbitration and cross-border litigation with two Anglo-Saxon law firms in Paris. She has acted in commercial and investment arbitration proceedings governed by the rules of the main institutions (ICC, PCA, ICSID...) or ad hoc, in a variety of industrial sectors. In her investment arbitration practice, Maria has advised both governments and investors.

Maria's litigation experience notably includes the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments, as well as obtaining provisional measures in complex proceedings involving multiple jurisdictions. In 2017, Maria also worked as an international tax law consultant with an international consulting firm in Moscow.

Maria holds an LL.M. in Transnational Arbitration and Dispute Settlement from the Institut d'études politiques de Paris (Sciences Po). Before moving to France, Maria also obtained a Master 2 in International Financial Law and a Bachelor's degree in International Law from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO).

Maria works in French, English and Russian.

Medici is proud to announce the nomination of its partners Marie-Laure Bizeau, Valence Borgia, and Caroline Duclercq in the Best Lawyers in France 2025 rankings for their expertise in the "Arbitration and Mediation" category. Caroline Duclercq and Marie-Laure Bizeau are also listed in this ranking as Best Lawyers in the "International Arbitration" category, and Valence Borgia in the "Litigation" category.

Caroline Duclercq, Marie-Laure Bizeau, and Valence Borgia are also featured in the "Arbitration" category of the Who’s Who Legal 2024 ranking.

Additionally, the firm is recognized by the 2024 edition of Legal 500 Paris in the "Dispute Resolution: International Arbitration" category.

These recognitions are the result of the collective work of all the firm's lawyers, whom we sincerely thank! We also warmly thank our clients and peers for their trust.

Links to the Best Lawyers rankings: https://www.bestlawyers.com/current-edition/france

Links to Who’s Who Legal 2024:

• Marie-Laure Bizeau: https://www.lexology.com/firms/1328443/marie_laure_bizeau
• Caroline Duclercq: https://www.lexology.com/firms/1328443/caroline_duclercq
• Valence Borgia: https://www.lexology.com/firms/1328443/valence_borgia

Link to the 2024 edition of Legal 500: https://www.legal500.fr/