Arbitration Award Procedure and Recourse Explained

The arbitration award procedure typically begins with the arbitrators rendering a decision, which is then communicated to the parties involved.

The decision is usually made in writing and includes the reasons for the award.

The parties may also be given the opportunity to review and comment on the award before it is finalized.

In some cases, the arbitrators may also provide a reasoned award, which explains the basis for the decision.

The arbitration award is then binding on the parties, unless it is challenged through a recourse process.

The arbitration award process can be complex, but understanding the steps involved can help you navigate it more easily.

To set aside an arbitration award, the party seeking to do so must file a petition to vacate the award.

Once the petition is filed, the adverse party will be served with the petition and summons, giving them the opportunity to respond in writing.

The petition to vacate an award is heard as a motion under the FAA.

Setting-aside proceedings do not have an automatic suspensive effect, meaning the award can be recognized or enforced even while the proceedings are ongoing.

US courts often stay recognition and enforcement proceedings upon application by a party if setting-aside proceedings are pending.

When interpreting an arbitration award, it's essential to understand the grounds for setting aside the award. The grounds for setting aside an arbitration award include serious irregularity affecting the award's fairness, failure to comply with the arbitration agreement, and the award being beyond the arbitrator's jurisdiction.

A serious irregularity can be anything that impacts the fairness of the award, such as an arbitrator's bias or failure to disclose a conflict of interest. The court will examine the award to determine if the irregularity is serious enough to warrant setting it aside.

The arbitrator's jurisdiction is limited to the scope of the arbitration agreement, and if the award goes beyond this scope, it can be set aside. The arbitration agreement will typically specify the issues to be decided by the arbitrator.

The court's review of an arbitration award is limited, and it will only intervene if the award is clearly wrong or if there has been a serious irregularity. The court will not re-examine the facts or re-try the case.

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The United States has specific laws governing the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. The Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) provides the applicable procedural law for recognition and enforcement of most foreign awards.

To enforce an ICSID award, US courts apply the statute implementing the ICSID Convention (22 USC section 1650a). The FAA also incorporates the New York Convention, which entered into force on 29 December 1970, providing a framework for the recognition and enforcement of awards made in the territory of another contracting state.

Service on foreign states and state-owned entities must be made pursuant to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA), which provides a four-step process for service in descending order of preference. This process is strictly enforced, so it's essential to follow it carefully.

A court must have subject-matter jurisdiction over the dispute and personal jurisdiction over the defendant to recognize and enforce an award. This means that the court must have the authority to hear the case and that the defendant must be properly served with the court documents.

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The FSIA provides an exception from sovereign immunity in an action to confirm an award if the arbitration agreement or award is governed by a treaty such as the New York, Convention, Panama Convention, or ICSID Conventions. This exception is crucial for ensuring that foreign states can be held accountable for their actions.

Here is a summary of the FSIA's four-step process for service:

The award creditor typically bears the burden of producing evidence showing that an exception to sovereign immunity applies. Assuming that the burden of production is met, the foreign state bears the ultimate burden of persuading the court that the claimed exception does not apply.

You can search for arbitration awards online using various parameters such as Case ID, Keyword, Name, Date of Award, and more.

To view awards, you can simply click on the relevant search results and access them online. You can also print or download awards as text-searchable PDF files.

The American Arbitration Association (AAO) provides a helpful "related documents" hyperlink with search results, which includes documents with the same case number.

This feature can save you time and effort in researching related documents.

Arbitration awards can be challenged in court, but the circumstances are usually limited. Most countries allow challenges on two main grounds: the tribunal didn't have jurisdiction, or there was a serious irregularity on the part of the tribunal.

In addition to challenges, many countries permit appeals on a point of law, but these are usually closely circumscribed to avoid undermining the commercial efficacy of arbitration. This means that appeals on points of law are not allowed in most cases, and are only permitted in specific circumstances.

If you're looking to challenge an arbitration award in the United States, you can move to modify or correct the award under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). This can be done if the award contains a miscalculation of figures, a mistake in description, or if the arbitrators decided on a matter not submitted to them.

Here are the grounds for modification or correction under the FAA:

Appeals are often misunderstood as being unavailable in arbitration cases, but that's not entirely accurate. Most countries allow arbitration awards to be challenged in court, but with certain limitations.

The two main grounds for challenging an arbitration award are that the tribunal didn't have jurisdiction to make the award, or there was serious irregularity on the part of the tribunal.

Arbitration awards can also be appealed on a point of law, although this right is usually tightly restricted to avoid undermining the commercial effectiveness of arbitration.

In many countries, the right to appeal on a point of law is closely circumscribed.

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If you're dealing with a dispute that's been resolved through arbitration, you may want to consider seeking recourse against the award. In the United States, this can be done under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA).

A party can move to modify or correct an award if it contains an evident material miscalculation of figures or an evident material mistake in the description of any person, thing or property. This must be done within three months of receiving the award.

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To qualify for modification or correction, the error must not affect the merits of the controversy. This means that even if the award is flawed, it can still be enforced if the outcome wouldn't change even if the error was corrected.

US courts may not revise or retract an award, but they can set it aside under certain circumstances. This includes cases where the arbitrators decided a matter not submitted to them or where the form of the award is imperfect.

Here are the specific grounds for setting aside an award under the FAA:

Note that the FAA does not permit the appeal of an award, but it does provide for the setting-aside of awards on the statutory grounds listed in section 10 of the FAA.

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Assets belonging to foreign states can be tricky to attach, but there are some exceptions. Under the FSIA, certain assets are always immune from attachment or execution, such as those held by a foreign central bank or monetary authority.

For example, a US court refused to attach an aeroplane used exclusively to transport Argentina's president, and Iranian antiquities on loan to US museums and a university. This shows how carefully courts consider the type of asset and its use before making a decision.

If the asset is connected to military activity or is under the control of a military authority, it's also immune from attachment or execution. However, if the attachment or execution is based on an order confirming an award rendered against a foreign state, the FSIA allows for execution on the state's property if it's located and used for commercial activity in the United States.

Here are some examples of assets that courts have held are attachable:

On the other hand, courts have refused to attach assets like an aeroplane used for transporting a foreign president and Iranian antiquities on loan to US institutions. This highlights the importance of considering the specific circumstances and purpose of the asset before attempting to attach it.

A foreign state can waive immunity from post-judgment execution either explicitly or by implication. An explicit waiver can take the form of a contractual provision, while an implied waiver is narrowly construed and rarely established.

To identify an award debtor's assets within the United States, you can use publicly available registries, such as real estate property registries, motor vehicle registries, and Uniform Commercial Code filings.

These registries are often available only within the relevant state and may require a fee for use. Specialist tracing services can also be employed to help identify assets.

An award creditor may ask a US court to authorise discovery under FRCP Rule 69 for use in identifying and attaching assets to satisfy an award.

This rule is often interpreted broadly, allowing an award creditor to request documents from the debtor and institutions holding the debtor's assets, as well as deposing people with relevant information.

Section 1782 of the US Code may also be used to disclose information about an award debtor, although this is no longer available in aid of arbitration.

To identify assets, you can also look at the following registries:

In arbitration, a partial award is issued when the arbitrator resolves only a portion of the dispute between the parties. This can happen when the parties agree to limit the scope of the arbitration.

A partial award can be further divided into two types: interim and final. An interim partial award is issued during the arbitration process, while a final partial award is issued at the end of the process.

Interim partial awards can be used to provide temporary relief to one of the parties, such as a temporary injunction or an order to pay interim damages.

Partial awards can be challenged in court, but the grounds for challenging them are limited.

Arbitration awards can be categorized into several sub-types, including provisional awards, partial awards, agreed awards, reasoned awards, additional awards, and draft awards. A provisional award is made on a provisional basis, subject to the final determination of the merits.

The Arbitration Act 1996 in England and Wales requires awards to be in writing and signed by all arbitrators assenting to the award. The award must also contain reasons, state the seat of the arbitration, and state the date upon which it is made.

In most countries, arbitration awards are non-justiciable, meaning they cannot be appealed in a court of law. This reflects the party-driven nature of arbitration, where the parties can often agree to vary the conditions of the award.

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Arbitration awards are typically written documents, although oral awards can exist in some countries.

In England and Wales, for example, the Arbitration Act 1996 requires awards to be in writing and signed by all arbitrators who agree with the decision, unless the parties agree otherwise.

The award must also contain reasons for the decision.

The Arbitration Act 1996 in England and Wales requires the award to state the "seat" of the arbitration, which is the place where the arbitration took place.

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This is important for calculating interest.

Here's a summary of the requirements for arbitration awards in England and Wales:

Arbitration awards are non-justiciable, which means they cannot be appealed in the same way as court decisions.

Arbitration awards can be categorized in various ways, depending on the jurisdiction. In most legal jurisdictions, there are several sub-categories of award.

A provisional award is made on a provisional basis, subject to the final determination of the merits. This type of award is often used in situations where a temporary resolution is needed.

A partial award is one that addresses only part of the claims or cross-claims brought by the parties. Importantly, this leaves it open to the parties to either resolve or continue to arbitrate the remaining issues.

Partial awards can be particularly useful in complex disputes where not all issues can be resolved at once.

An agreed award is usually in the form of a settlement between the parties of their dispute. By embodying the settlement in the form of an award, it can have a number of advantages, such as finality and enforceability.

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A reasoned award is not a sub-category of award, but rather a description of an award where the tribunal sets out its reasoning for its decision.

Here are the different sub-categories of arbitration awards: