Originally from World Arbitration And Mediation Review (WAMR)

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RECOGNITION AND ENFORCEMENT OF

FOREIGN ARBITRAL AWARDS IN MEXICO:
CASES AND LEGISLATION

Efrén C. Olivares*

I. INTRODUCTION

An arbitral award is only as good as its capacity to allow a
winning party to collect against a recalcitrant losing party.
International arbitral awards are often paid voluntarily,1 but
when they are not, they must be enforced judicially. To that end,
an arbitral award typically undergoes an enforcement or
recognition process in the courts. This article reviews the process
for the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards in
Mexico, including applicable laws and relevant cases, as well as
the role of the Mexican legal concept of "amparo" in the context of
arbitration.

II. THE INTERNATIONAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK

Mexico has ratified both the 1958 Convention on the
Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards ("New
York Convention") and the 1975 Inter-American Convention on
International Commercial Arbitration ("Panama Convention").2
These two conventions establish international obligations for
State parties regarding the recognition and enforcement of
foreign arbitral awards.

The New York Convention, currently in force for 145
countries, has been described as the "single most important pillar
on which the edifice of international arbitration rests."3 Among
other things, the New York Convention states that each
"Contracting State shall recognize arbitral awards as binding and
enforce them in accordance with the rules of procedure of the
territory where the award is relied upon."4 In addition, the rules
of procedure shall not impose more onerous conditions on the
enforcement of foreign arbitral awards than on that of domestic
awards.5