Non-compliance with EU competition law as a public policy violation: lessons for FRAND arbitration

ENThis contribution analyzes the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) dealing with non-compliance with EU competition as a public policy violation under Article V (2) (b) of the New York Convention, when proceedings regarding the recognition or enforcement of a foreign arbitral award take place, as well as it delves into the standards of assessment employed by the courts of EU member states, in particular Germany and Lithuania, to determine the circumstances under which this violation occurs. It is concluded that, in order to mitigate the risk of refusal to recognize or enforce a foreign arbitral award in FRAND licencing disputes, both, arbitral tribunals and parties, during the arbitration proceedings should be active in identifying and addressing potential EU competition law issues. Keywords: arbitration; EU competition law; FRAND; New York Convention; recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards; public policy.