Facts
On 11 March 1988, company S. Inc. domiciled in San Francisco filed an application with the civil court of the canton of Basel-City to declare enforceable a judgment rendered on 10 June 1985 by the District Court of Northern California. This judgment had granted the claim of company T. AG for an amount of $70,800.19 and the counterclaim of S. Inc. for an amount of $120,060 in damages and $50,000 in "punitive damages" due to the fraudulent conduct of T. AG, resulting in a balance of $99,259.81 in favor of S. Inc. On 1 February 1989, the civil court and on 1 December 1989, the court of appeal of the canton of Basel-City declared this US judgment enforceable. T. AG filed an appeal with the Federal Tribunal, requesting the annulment of the decision of the court of appeal and non-consideration, on the grounds that the US judgment, due to the awarded punitive damages, does not constitute a purely civil judgment and should be declared enforceable according to the procedure applicable to foreign criminal judgments. Alternatively, T. AG concluded to the dismissal of the application, on the grounds that the award of punitive damages would be contrary to Swiss public policy.Considerations
The Federal Tribunal refused to consider the appeal. According to its consistent case law, disputes regarding the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in Switzerland do not constitute civil disputes that can be challenged by…