Arbitral awards: Final means final

• In Deinon, the court reaffirmed that there is no stay of execution on arbitral awards without ‘special circumstances’.
• Once all statutory challenges under the Arbitration Act 1996 are exhausted, enforcement must proceed without delay.

In Deinon Insurance Brokers LLC v Reen and others [2025] EWHC 1263 (Comm), the defendants applied, under CPR 83.7, for a stay of execution and enforcement of six orders in favour of Deinon made in the Commercial Court, and in the London Circuit Commercial Court, on four arbitral awards.

Legal principles

CPR 83.7 applies in all cases in which a party seeks a stay of execution of a money judgment. The applicant must show that ‘special circumstances’ have arisen that render it inexpedient to enforce the judgment or order. The threshold to be met by the applicant is high because creditors should not be deprived of the right to immediate enforcement of a judgment, and a stay should not be