Facts
In an attachment enforcement proceeding, the Central Bank of Chile filed a claim with the Commercial Court of the Canton of Zurich against the National Bank of Cuba for payment of a blocked amount of CHF 30,752,000.-- plus interest. Since the plaintiff had already filed a claim for the release of the money with the London High Court of Justice, Queen's Bench Division, on July 3, 1979, the defendant raised the plea of lis pendens in its statement of defense in the Zurich proceedings and demanded the suspension of the proceedings. However, the Commercial Court dismissed the plea of lis pendens and announced the continuation of the proceedings. The defendant has appealed against this decision.Considerations
The Federal Court states that according to its previous case law, it is a matter of federal law to assess whether two competing proceedings concern identical, materially federally based claims of the same parties. It is irrelevant whether a first judgment has already been rendered or whether the first proceedings on identical claims are still pending.
However, there is only reason to protect against contradictory judgments on the same subject matter if the foreign proceedings are capable of producing a final and enforceable judgment. If this is uncertain, a careful balance must be struck between the risk of contradictory judgments and the risk that the claimant will be denied the legal protection provided by federal law. In the case of attachment enforcement, which is…