CHAPTER 9 Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards

• Date: 07 April 2025

244

CHA PTER 9

RECOGNITION A ND

ENFORCEMENT OF

FOREIGN ARBITR AL

AWA R D S

A. INTRODUCTION

The number of civil disputes resolved by arbitration has increased sig-

nif‌icantly over the past forty years. In many cases the disputing parties

are required, by contract or statute, to arbitrate rather than litigate. In

many other cases the parties voluntarily choose arbitration once the

dispute has arisen, perceiving it to have advantages over the judicial pro-

cess. The potential advantages are well known: the ability to resolve the

dispute in private rather than in open court, the availability of a specialist

decision maker with expertise in the relevant area, and procedures that

allow the dispute to proceed more rapidly and eciently.

At the conclusion of an arbitration, the arbitrator renders an award.

It looks very similar to a judicial decision but there are important dier-

ences when it comes to enforcement. Unlike a judgment, the machinery

of the state is not automatically available to force the unsuccessful party

to comply. As a result, most countries have enacted legislation dealing

with the enforcement of domestic arbitral awards.1 In very general terms,

1 See, for example, the Arbitration Act, 1991, SO 1991, c 17 [AA (Ont)]; Arbitration

Act, RSNS 1989, c 19.