Steven Friel & Mercedes Castillo applaud the English courts’ continuing support for the arbitral process
The ease of enforcement of arbitral awards, particularly in the international context, is one of the advantages of arbitration over court litigation. The International Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (commonly known as the New York Convention) obliges contracting states (which include most jurisdictions around the world) to recognise foreign arbitral awards as binding and to enforce them in accordance with their rules of procedure.
The New York Convention, which this year celebrates its 50th birthday, is considered to be a great success and one of the main reasons behind the success of international arbitration. That a successful party can easily enforce an arbitral award in most jurisdictions around the world, often much easier than enforcing a court judgment, is a great support for the efficiency of the arbitral process.
Also seen as a great success, the Arbitration Act 1996 (AA 1996) sets out the rules and procedures to be followed in English based arbitrations, and the rules to be followed
