The Subject-Matter of an Arbitration Agreement and Arbitrability; A Legal Relationship versus a Claim

Decision of the Supreme Court (Sąd Najwyższy) No. V CSK 439/09 of 18 June 2010

Rationes Decidendi:

The subject-matter of an arbitration agreement is legal relationships, not specific claims arising from such relationships. The possibility of subjecting a dispute to the jurisdiction of arbitrators is abstractly defined for legal relationships, not for the types of claims arising from such relationships (enforcement, a declaration of whether or not a legal relationship or right exists here). The [objective] arbitrability of a dispute depends on the type of legal relationship.
A precondition of [objective] arbitrability is the abstract possibility of the parties to the dispute to dispose of rights arising from the legal relationship between those parties. In this regard, arbitrability is not dependent on whether the parties can reach a particular settlement. It is therefore irrelevant [...] whether a party itself could conclude and declare that a contract is null and void; [...] the material factor is whether the parties can reach an amicable settlement.

keywords
arbitration agreement
arbitrability
objective arbitrability
disposal of rights
type of legal relationship
types of claims
settlement
settlement of dispute
about the authors

Univ. Professor, Dr.iur., Mgr., Dipl. Ing. oec/MB, Dr.h.c. Lawyer admitted and practising in Prague/CZE (Branch N.J./US), Senior Partner of the Law Offices Bělohlávek, Dept. of Law, Faculty of Economics, Ostrava, CZE, Dept. of Int. and European Law, Faculty of Law, Masaryk University, Brno, CZE (visiting), Chairman of the Commission on Arbitration ICC National Committee CZE, Arbitrator in Prague, Vienna, Kiev etc. Member of ASA, DIS, Austrian Arb. Association. The President of the WJA – the World Jurist Association, Washington D.C./USA.

e-mail: office@ablegal.cz


Mgr. Tomáš Řezníček (*1978) works as a legal trainee in the Law Offi ces of Bělohlávek, Prague, Czech Republic. Graduated from the Law Faculty of Charles University in Prague in 2007, also absolved foreign studies at the Law Faculty of Jagiellonian University in Krakow. Coauthor of various articles with prof. A. Bělohlávek published in professional periodicals in the Czech Republic. Field of interest: Commercial Law, Private International Law, Pharmaceutical Law.

e-mail: tomas.reznicek@ablegal.cz