Skip to Content

Second Circuit Affirms Confirmation of ICC Decision Based on UAE Law
May 03, 2021

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed a decision confirming a decision by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) that applied the law of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Cessna Finance Corp. leased several private jets to startup Prestige Jet Rental. Ghaith Al Ghaith, Prestige’s chairman, who was also the deputy chairman of Al Ghaith Holding Co. PJSC (AGHC), guaranteed the lease agreements in his capacity as deputy chairman of AGHC. When Prestige defaulted, Cessna initiated arbitration in the ICC pursuant to the lease agreements against AGHC. AGHC argued that Al Ghaith’s guarantee was invalid because its articles of association required the signatures of “two out of three” of its chairman, deputy chairman, and managing director to bind the company, and only Al Ghaith had signed the guarantee. The ICC rejected that claim, finding that “AGHC was bound by ‘good faith’ under ... the UAE Civil Code.” Cessna moved to confirm the ICC’s award and AGHC cross-moved to vacate the award.

The district court confirmed the award. The Second Circuit affirmed. The Second Circuit rejected AGHC’s argument that the ICC had “manifestly disregarded the law,” explaining that it had applied the law of the UAE in a way that “provided at least a barely colorable justification for its decision.” The court noted that a barely colorable justification was all that was needed for an award to be enforced against a challenge that an arbitrator manifestly disregarded the law.

Cesfin Ventures LLC v. Al Ghaith Holding Co. PJSC, No. 20-1106 (2d Cir. Apr. 22, 2021).
Authored By
Image: Brendan N. Gooley
Brendan N. Gooley
Related Practices
Reinsurance
©2025 Carlton Fields, P.A. Carlton Fields practices law in California through Carlton Fields, LLP. Carlton Fields publications should not be construed as legal advice on any specific facts or circumstances. The contents are intended for general information and educational purposes only, and should not be relied on as if it were advice about a particular fact situation. The distribution of this publication is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship with Carlton Fields. This publication may not be quoted or referred to in any other publication or proceeding without the prior written consent of the firm, to be given or withheld at our discretion. To request reprint permission for any of our publications, please use our Contact Us form via the link below. The views set forth herein are the personal views of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the firm. This site may contain hypertext links to information created and maintained by other entities. Carlton Fields does not control or guarantee the accuracy or completeness of this outside information, nor is the inclusion of a link to be intended as an endorsement of those outside sites.

Disclaimer

The information on this website is presented as a service for our clients and Internet users and is not intended to be legal advice, nor should you consider it as such. Although we welcome your inquiries, please keep in mind that merely contacting us will not establish an attorney-client relationship between us. Consequently, you should not convey any confidential information to us until a formal attorney-client relationship has been established. Please remember that electronic correspondence on the internet is not secure and that you should not include sensitive or confidential information in messages. With that in mind, we look forward to hearing from you.