DC Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Judgment-Recognition Claim Against Guinea

Hughes Hubbard secured an appellate ruling affirming dismissal of a judgment-recognition claim against the Republic of Guinea arising from a more than $21 million arbitral award.

The dispute stems from a May 2009 agreement between Spanish telecommunications firm Global Voice Group (GVG) and Guinea’s telecommunications provider, the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Guinea, which led to ICC arbitration in 2016 over unpaid invoices and an award exceeding $21 million. GVG later sought to enforce both the award and a related French court judgment in U.S. court in 2022.

In February 2025, Hughes Hubbard won dismissal of the case in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, with the court holding that Guinea was not a party to the arbitration agreement, and was therefore immune from suit under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA).

On May 29, the D.C. Circuit affirmed that dismissal as to the judgment-recognition claim, holding that U.S. courts lack jurisdiction under the FSIA to enforce a foreign judgment confirming an arbitral award, and rejecting arguments under both the arbitration and waiver exceptions. The court separately remanded the award-confirmation claim for further analysis, emphasizing that it was not deciding whether jurisdiction exists over that claim.

“We would also note the court stated in its decision, ‘We do not conclude that the district court had jurisdiction of Global Voice's award-confirmation claim. We hold only that the district court should have applied the inquiry set forth in TIG Insurance in ruling on Guinea's motion to dismiss,’” the Hughes Hubbard team told Law360.

Law360 and IAReporter reported on the decision.

The Hughes Hubbard team representing the Republic of Guinea includes Sena Agbayissah, Carter Rosekrans, Winthrop Jordan and Kayahan Cantekin.