New York 1958 Convention for the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards - International Arbitration Treaties - World Arbitration Reporter (WAR) - 2nd Edition

Author(s):

Domenico Di Pietro

Page Count:

58 pages

Media Description:

1 PDF Download

Published:

December, 2011

Jurisdictions:

International

Practice Areas:

Applicable Law,

Applicable Conflict-of-Laws System,

Arbitral Awards,

Contents of Arbitration Agreement,

Grounds for Refusal of Enforcement,

New York Convention

Author Detail:

Domenico Di Pietro, J.D. (Rome), LLM (London), Avvocato (Italy) and Solicitor (England and Wales), Lecturer, University of Rome “Roma Tre”.

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Originally from World Arbitration Reporter (WAR) - 2nd Edition

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I. INTRODUCTION

A. Historical Background

The movement that eventually brought about the New York

Convention was set in motion in the early years of the 20th century.

Possibly the first recorded debate about harmonisation of

arbitration legislation was held at the International Congress of

Chambers of Commerce that took place in Paris in 1914. The

dramatic conflict that scarred Europe in the years between 1915 and

1918 stopped any development in that regard. It was not until 1921,

after the creation of the International Chamber of Commerce, that

the idea of harmonising practice and legislation of international

arbitration became a priority again. In that regard, the ICC adopted a

resolution that effectively recommended the adoption of measures

that would have the effect of facilitating the development of

arbitration.1

The ICC’s work contributed to a project of the League of Nations

that was aimed at tackling similar matters. As a result, in 1923 the

Assembly of the League of Nations adopted the Geneva Protocol on

Arbitration Clauses, which entered into force in July 1924. The

Protocol’s eight articles substantially required Contracting States to

recognise the validity of arbitration agreements entered into by

parties belonging to other Contracting States. It would then be for

Contracting States to implement legislation that would require

domestic courts to stay any court proceedings brought in breach of an

arbitration agreement. The Protocol also dealt with enforcement of

arbitral awards, even though the relevant obligation was only binding

upon the Contracting State where the award had been rendered. It

goes without saying that such provision limited both scope and

breadth of the Protocol to a very sizeable extent. However, the

advancement achieved by the Protocol, at least in terms of “breaking

the ice” for the development of international arbitration, should not be

underestimated. Indeed, as it has been correctly suggested:

the Protocol amounted to a first enormous step towards the

perception about the importance of a system that would

facilitate international trade through the swift resolution of

international trade disputes.2

Such advancement was furthered by the work of the Economic

Committee of the League of Nations, which, in 1926, started to work

on some kind of evolution for the Geneva Protocol. The result of such

an effort was the League of Nations’ 1927 Geneva Convention on the

Execution of Foreign Arbitral Awards, which entered into force in

July 1929. The Geneva Convention requested Contracting States to

recognise as binding and to enforce any arbitral awards made

pursuant to an arbitration agreement covered by the Protocol on
Arbitration Clauses. Under the Convention, recognition and

Table of Contents:

THE NEW YORK 1958 CONVENTION FOR THE RECOGNITION AND ENFORCEMENT OF FOREIGN ARBITRAL AWARDS

I. INTRODUCTION
A. Historical background
B. Text of the Convention

II. CONTRACTING STATES

III. COMMENTARY
A. Introduction
B. Defining the scope of application of the Convention: methodology
1. What is arbitration under the New York Convention?
2. What is an arbitral award under the New York Convention?
3. The territorial criterion and its exception
4. The two reservations
C. Arbitration agreements: arbitrability, formal and substantive validity
D. Resisting Enforcement: Article V
E. Adjournment of the decision on enforcement: Article VI
F. More favourable right provision: Article VII
G. Further provisions of the Convention