Arbitral awards
What are the effects of the award?
The arbitral award has the effect of res judicata and is immediately enforceable.
Is an award subject to appeal?
The arbitral award is not subject to any ordinary or extraordinary appeal. In most legal systems, only an action for annulment may be brought against the award.
What is an action for annulment?
By means of an action for annulment, the judge can rescind the validity of the award and its res judicata effect, but not modify or “rewrite” what was decided.
If the annulment action is successful, the parties will generally have to submit the same dispute to arbitration again.
On what grounds can an award be annulled?
Each State is free to determine the grounds on which an award made within its territory or under its laws may be set aside or annulled. However, the vast majority of jurisdictions recognize the same limited grounds, namely:
- The arbitration agreement does not exist or is invalid.
- A party has been unable to enforce its rights, inter alia, because it has not been duly notified of the appointment of an arbitrator or of the arbitral proceedings.
- The award resolves issues that the parties have not submitted to the arbitrators for decision.
- The appointment of the arbitrators did not comply with the parties’ agreement or, in the absence of agreement, with the arbitration law.
- The arbitration procedure was not in accordance with the parties’ agreement.
- The award rules on issues that are not arbitrable.
- The award is contrary to public policy.
See Art. 41.1 of the Arbitration Act 60/2003, of December 23, and Art. 34 of the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration.
Where can an award be annulled?
An arbitral award may be annulled only by the judicial authority of the State where the seat of arbitration is located or the State under whose law the award was made. See Art. V(1)(6) of the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, made in New York on June 10, 1958
