Question juridique clé
Whether the Syrian appellate decisions had to be recognized and enforced as arbitral awards under the New York Convention or as foreign judgments under the PILA.
Solution extraite
The decisions were state-court appellate decisions that altered or reviewed arbitral awards; they were therefore not arbitral awards for New York Convention purposes but foreign judgments under the PILA.
Motifs extraits
When a state court is empowered to amend an arbitral award on appeal, its decision loses the character of an arbitral award. Recognition is governed by Arts. 25 ff. PILA, not the New York Convention.