The Court of Appeal (Federal Arbitrazh Court of Central Region) had upheld the decision of the lower court (Arbitration court of Ryazan region), refusing the enforcement of an arbitral award issued under the Arbitration Rules of the German Institution of Arbitration (DIS) (see Legal update, Voluntary participation of respondent in arbitration is not a valid substitute for a written arbitration clause).

The courts' decisions were based on the absence of evidence showing that the parties had effectively (that is, in writing) amended the arbitration clause in their distributorship agreement which referred disputes to arbitration in Sweden. Both courts held that neither the written communications between the parties nor the respondent's participation in the arbitration without questioning the jurisdiction of the tribunal was sufficient to establish a valid agreement to arbitrate under the DIS Rules.

The High Court of Arbitration found that, when considering these two factors (the parties' correspondence regarding arbitration under the DIS Rules and the respondent's participation in the arbitration), the lower courts had not carried out a proper analysis of the applicable legal principles. There were therefore grounds for review by the High Court of Arbitration.

The final decision of the High Court annulling or upholding the decisions of the lower courts is expected no later than three months from the date of the ruling accepting the decision for review. If it decides to annul the decisions, the High Court can either refer the case back to the court of first instance for reconsideration or order the enforcement of the award itself.