do business in the Dominican Republic - Pellerano & Herrera

Pellerano & HerreraAttorneys at lawThe request to obtain this declaration or “exequatur” must be made to the Courtof First Instance, which reviews the decision and verifies mainly:1. That it was issued by a competent court,2. That the decision is not subject to any further appeals or remedies in thecountry of origin,3. That the defendant was allowed to exercise the right of defense, and4. That the decision does not contradict Dominican laws or internal public order.3ARBITRATION139This process usually becomes a litigation similar to ordinary claims filed at thecourt, and can thus take years.ARBITRATIONPersons and companies may choose to avoid judicial litigation and solve theirbusiness disputes through out of court settlements, which generally providefaster and more efficient solutions than judicial courts. In the DominicanRepublic it is possible to submit conflicts to arbitrators or conciliators as long assuch conflicts do not refer to public order laws.INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATIONIn October 2001, the Dominican Republic became a member of the 1958 NewYork Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Arbitral Awards. Thisconvention addresses the recognition by national courts of arbitration agreements,themandatory referral by such courts to arbitration pursuant to the agreement,the judicial enforcement and recognition of arbitration awards, and thegrounds for refusal of such recognition and enforcement.As the most important treaty in international arbitration, which has been ratifiedby more than 120 countries, this measure signifies a great improvement of thelegal framework for foreign investment in the country.The most meaningful effect of the convention is to simplify the enforcement ofarbitral awards in the Dominican Republic. Before the ratification of the convention,foreign companies faced a major drawback when submitting their commercialdisputes in the Dominican Republic to foreign or international arbitration,since such awards could not be enforced in the country unless a validation procedurewas followed, which in practical terms equaled a normal litigationprocess with domestic judicial courts.In this regard, the convention provides that “There shall not be imposed substantiallymore onerous conditions or higher fees or charges on the recognition or enforcementof arbitral awards to which this Convention applies that are imposed on therecognition or enforcement of domestic arbitral awards”, as long as the relevantauthentication and translation formalities of the award have been complied with.Refusal of enforcement by domestic courts may only arise in the following cases: