INDIA 65

The Supreme Court affirmed the recognition and enforcement of three partial final and one final LCIA award rendered in England. The Court noted that the role of the enforcement court under the 1958 New York Convention and the Indian Act was very limited: no review of the merits of the award was possible, and the court could only ascertain whether any of the limited grounds that could be raised by the defendant existed, or whether enforcement would violate the public policy of India – to be construed narrowly to mean a violation of a fundamental policy of Indian law, justice, or morality. Further, the Court retained the residual discretion to grant enforcement even if a refusal ground existed, but only where such ground affected solely party interests. In the present case, the alleged violations of due process did not justify a refusal, in light of the narrow reading to be given to the expression "otherwise unable to present his case" in Sect. 48(1)(b) of the Indian Arbitration Act, which mirrored Art. V(1)(b) of the Convention. The Supreme Court affirmed the recognition and enforcement of three partial final and one final LCIA award rendered in England. The Court noted that the role of the enforcement court under the 1958 New York Convention and the Indian Act was very limited: no review of the merits of the award was possible, and the court could only ascertain whether any of the limited grounds that could be raised by the defendant existed, or whether enforcement would violate the public policy of India – to be construed narrowly to mean a violation of a fundamental policy of Indian law, justice, or morality. Further, the Court retained the residual discretion to grant enforcement even if a refusal ground existed, but only where such ground affected solely party interests. In the present case, the alleged violations of due process did not justify a refusal, in light of the narrow reading to be given to the expression "otherwise unable to present his case" in Sect. 48(1)(b) of the Indian Arbitration Act, which mirrored Art. V(1)(b) of the Convention.

Yearbook
Yearbook Commercial Arbitration, S. W. Schill (ed.), Vol. XLV (2020)

Country
India

Original full text
Full text decision INDIA 65

Excerpt
Excerpt decision INDIA 65

Topics in INDIA 65
¶301 » Procedure for enforcement in general
¶500 » Grounds for refusal of enforcement in general
¶500A » Residual power to enforce notwithstanding existence of ground for refusal
¶502 » No re-examination of the merits of the arbitral award
¶511 » “Otherwise unable to present his case”
¶518 » Paragraph 2 - Distinction domestic–international public policy
¶521 » Lack of impartiality of arbitrator
¶523 » Irregularities in the arbitral procedure (see also Art. V(1)(b))
¶524 » Other cases