Enforcing a Foreign Award in India: Procedure, Appeals and Savings
Chapter Forty-Nine
Syllabus topic 3.1, "Enforcement of Certain Foreign Awards"
Pages 248 to 252 of 377
In one line
Once the court is satisfied a foreign award is enforceable, the award is simply deemed to be a decree of that court, and only a refusal can be appealed.
In exam wording: section 49 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 provides that where the Court is satisfied that a foreign award is enforceable under Chapter I, the award shall be deemed to be a decree of that Court; section 50 lists the appealable orders; section 51 is a saving; and section 52 excludes the Geneva chapter.
Section 49: the deeming provision, and the single word that matters
Where the Court is satisfied that the foreign award is enforceable under this Chapter, the award shall be deemed to be a decree of that Court.
Compare that with section 36(1) for a domestic award, chapter 410, which says the award shall be enforced in accordance with the Code of Civil Procedure in the same manner as if it were a decree.
The difference is real. A domestic award is enforced as if it were a decree; a foreign award, once the court is satisfied, is deemed to be a decree of that court. So there is no separate enforcement order, no suit on the award, and no execution proceeding distinct from the enforcement application: the successful applicant emerges holding a decree of a High Court.
Note the single-stage character of the enquiry, which is the New York Convention's design showing through. The court considers the section 47 evidence and the section 48 objections together; if it is not persuaded to refuse, the award is a decree. There is nothing further to apply for.
Section 50: appeals
Section 50(1): notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, an appeal shall lie from the order refusing to:
- (a) refer the parties to arbitration under section 45;
- (b) enforce a foreign award under section 48,
to the court authorised by law to hear appeals from such order.
Section 50(2): no second appeal shall lie from an order passed in appeal under this section, but nothing in this section shall affect or take away any right to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Look at what is appealable and what is not, because the asymmetry is the same one as in section 37 and it is examinable.
| Order | Appealable? |
|---|---|
| Refusing to refer under section 45 | Yes, section 50(1)(a) |
| Referring the parties under section 45 | No |
| Refusing to enforce under section 48 | Yes, section 50(1)(b) |
| Enforcing the award | No |
| A second appeal | No, section 50(2) |
| An appeal to the Supreme Court | Preserved, section 50(2) |
The policy is consistent with section 37, chapter 420: an order that stops the arbitral process is appealable; an order that gives effect to it is not. Enforcing an award gives effect to it, so no appeal lies; refusing enforcement destroys it in India, so one does.
The rest of this chapter
Module one is free. The rest of B.L.S. LL.B. 5 Years Semester 7 is part of the bundle.
You are reading a chapter from a later module. Everything in module one of every subject stays free, and so does every question paper and the syllabus.
See the semester for ₹798 Already bought it? Sign in
Free either way: question papers, the syllabus, and module one of every subject.
The rest of this subject
These notes are cut from the University's printed syllabus. Open the syllabus itself for the same subject.