Introduction

The interface between EU competition law and international arbitration was recently before a Dutch court in a case that had a surprising result. In Marketing Displays International Inc. v. VR Van Raalte Reclame BV,[1] the Court of Appeal of The Hague upheld a lower court's refusal to grant exequatur to three US arbitral awards, because the awards were considered incompatible with Article 81 of the EC Treaty and thus violated public policy. This is the first time that a foreign arbitral award has been refused recognition/enforcement in Europe on grounds of EU competition ...