The Public Policy Exception To The Enforcement Of Arbitral Awards

The book presents arguments derived from primary sources related to international arbitration in South Asian jurisdictions, a list of the same is made available therein. The book is a research statement on the contemporary concerns within international commercial arbitration, especially related to enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. Importantly, the book through a unique methodology of interface, presents the gratuitous nature of Article 34 of the UNCITRAL Model Law when read with Article V of the New York Convention, especially the plea to the States within Article VII of the same Convention to ease the restrictions and the process of enforceability of foreign arbitral awards. The book also articulates another important and immediate need with regard to international arbitration – the delimitation of public policy exception to recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. It critiques the jurisprudence related to arbitration in jurisdictions spread across different geographic regions, thereby enabling the reader to gain an insight into their practices, apart from ensuring a comparative perspective. The book addresses the primary concern related to international arbitration – enforcement of foreign arbitral awards and the grounds for challenges articulated within the New York Convention and the UNCITRAL Model Law. It addresses these grounds, and articulates the necessity for carving the criteria for the application of public policy exception. The book will not only be a useful resource for policy makers, students and researchers interested in international commercial arbitration, and private international law, but also for practitioners working on dispute resolution in trans-jurisdictional disputes in South Asia and beyond. “...The present book is not just another book contributing to the endless list of literature already widely used in International Commercial Arbitration on public policy but, in my opinion, is unique in many respects. The distinguishing factor of this book is its regional perspective..." - Justice Deepak Verma, Former Judge of Supreme Court of India and Arbitrator “...This book addresses this core element of the success story of arbitration: enforcement and refusal to enforce and, hence, its relevance cannot be overstated...” - Csongor István Nagy, Professor of Law and Head, Department of Private International Law, University of Szeged, Hungary Detailed Forewords are available in the book and can be freely downloaded from https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-16-2634-0

The Public Policy Exception under the New York Convention: History, Interpretation, and Application describes in detail the drafting history of the public policy exception of Art. V (2) (b) of the New York Convention in order to determine the purpose the signatory states wanted to achieve with this clause. The book also explains how this clause is applied by the courts in many economically relevant states, and especially in Brazil, Russia, India, and China. In September 2012, the Indian Supreme Court, in a case entitled Bharat Aluminium Co. v. Kaiser Aluminium Technical Service, Inc., announced a long expected decision practically reversing the judgments of Bhatia International and Venture Global and holding that Indian Courts are not permitted to set aside foreign arbitral awards. In this Revised Edition, the author explains and explores the reasoning of the Indian Supreme Court in this landmark decision and discusses the practical implications and consequences. Public Policy Exception under the New York Convention: History, Interpretation, and Application is of importance for all internationally active companies as well as for lawyers and courts. The book aids lawyers and companies in drafting arbitration clauses and in enforcing foreign arbitral awards. Often, judgments will not be enforced abroad; this is especially true with respect to an enforcement of foreign judgments in the BRIC countries. Therefore, internationally active companies and their advisors need guidance if and where foreign arbitral awards in their favor will be enforced abroad.

The book is focused on the public policy exception under New York Convention, UNCITRAL Model Law and the Federal Arbitration Act.

This book systematically examines how the Chinese arbitration law system responds to the application of the public policy exception in the judicial review of international arbitral awards. The discussion is based on a general understanding of the legal concept of public policy in international arbitration practice and the understanding developed in Chinese arbitration law and judicial practice. In focusing on both international developments and Chinese arbitral and judicial practice, this book provides some lessons from and for China. The book is based on a review of both legislation and cases in China and a comparison with the international trends and consensuses, as well as a systematic assessment of China’s performance in defining and applying public policy in the judicial review of international commercial arbitral awards. Valuable insights are provided on the basis of detailed analysis of the relevant cases. In this context, the author raised and examined a few key questions to be answered by the judicial practice, including: the international/national nature of public policy, the key elements of public policy, and the appropriate boundaries of judicial review. The author also highlighted a few unique legal concepts and approaches adopted in the Chinese context and evaluated its impacts on foreign parties and practitioners dealing with arbitration issues in China. It is proposed that, in the context of China’s recent law reforms, further steps are expected to be taken by the Chinese legal system in order to achieve a more comprehensive view of the public policy exception that is consistent with the globalized trend of a converging understanding of public policy in international arbitration.

In the process of resolving disputes, it is not uncommon for parties to justify actions otherwise in breach of their obligations by invoking the need to protect some aspect of the elusive concept of public order. Until this thoroughly researched book, the criteria and factors against which international dispute bodies assess such claims have remained unclear. Now, by providing an in-depth comparative analysis of relevant jurisprudence under four distinct international dispute resolution systems – trade, investment, human rights and international commercial arbitration – the author of this invaluable book identifies common core benchmarks for the application of the public order exception. To achieve the broadest possible scope for her analysis, the author examines the public order exception’s function, role and application within the following international dispute resolution systems: relevant World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements as enforced by the organization’s Dispute Settlement Body and Appellate Body; international investment agreements as enforced by competent Arbitral Tribunals and Annulment Committees under the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes; provisions under the Inter-American Convention of Human Rights and the European Convention of Human Rights as enforced by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights, respectively; and the New York Convention as enforced by national tribunals across the world. Controversies, tensions and pitfalls inherent in invoking the public order exception are elucidated, along with clear guidelines on how arguments may be crafted in order to enhance prospects of success. Throughout, tables and graphs systematize key aspects of the relevant jurisprudence under each of the dispute resolution systems analysed. As an immediate practical resource for lawyers on any side of a dispute who wish to invoke or strengthen a public order exception claim, the book’s systematic analysis will be welcomed by lawyers active in WTO disputes, international investment arbitration, human rights law or enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. Academics and policymakers will find a signal contribution to the ongoing debate on the existence, legal basis, content and functions of the transnational public order.

The analysis thoroughly covers the major issues that have arisen in the application of the Convention, including the following: - the use of reservations made by Contracting States; - the distinctions between recognition and enforcement and between recognition sought at the seat of the arbitration and outside the seat; - the role of the courts in reviewing arbitral awards and, in particular, the Convention's focus on safeguarding due process standards; - the more favourable rightsA" principle embodied in Article VII(1); - the relevance of forum shopping and asset spotting to the application of the Convention; and - the role of formalities and formalism. The end result is an invaluable work that will prove enormously useful to all international commercial arbitration practitioners and scholars, regardless of location.

The New York Convention has served as the cornerstone of the international arbitration system since its signature in 1958 until the present day. The Guide on the New York Convention provides an insight on the application of the Convention by State courts. It was initiated in 2010 when UNCITRAL commissioned the assistance of Professors Gaillard and Bermann as part of its efforts to promote wider adherence to the text of the New York Convention as well as its uniform interpretation and effective implementation. The interpretation that derives from court decisions of diverse jurisdictions makes the Guide a unique tool to understand the New York Convention, an almost universally adopted text, and to monitor its application. This guide is mainly designed for legal practitioners.

This incisive book is an indispensable guide to the New York Convention's uniform regime on recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. Framing the Convention as a uniform law instrument, the book analyses case law from major arbitration jurisdictions to explain its scope of application, the duty to recognize arbitral agreements and awards as well as their limitations, and the procedure and formal requirements for enforcing arbitral awards.