DEFINITION OF FOREIGN AWARD:

● Foreign award is defined under Part II, Section 44 of the New York
Convention Awards.
● Foreign award means an arbitral award on differences between persons
arising out of legal relationships, whether contractual or not.
● A 'foreign award' is an arbitral award made – or deemed to be made – in the
territory of another state

NOTE: The provisions regarding conditions for enforcement of foreign awards made
under the New York Convention or the Geneva Convention are almost the same. Once
an award is held to be enforceable it is deemed to be a decree of the court and can be
executed as such. Under the Act there is no procedure for setting aside a foreign award.
A foreign award can only be enforced or refused to be enforced but it cannot be set
aside.

WHEN FOREIGN AWARD BINDING (SECTION 46)

● Any foreign award which would be enforceable under this chapter shall be
treated as binding for all purposes and person as between whom it was made
and many accordingly be relied on by any of those person by way of defense set
off or otherwise in any legal proceedings in India.

● Section 46 provided that a foreign award cannot be challenged on merit being

final conclusive and binding for all purposes except in circumstances Setout in
section 48 in which enforcement thereof will be refused

● Domestic court cannot set aside or annul a foreign award. The court has only
jurisdiction to decide whether the award is enforceable or not
Requirements for enforcement of Foreign Award [Section 47]

Section 47 of the Act provides that the party applying for enforcement of foreign
award “shall” at the time of application produce before the court
● . The original award or a duly authenticated copy thereof;
● . The original arbitration agreement or a duly-certified copy thereof; and
● . Such evidence may be necessary to prove that the award is a foreign award.
● Where the award or agreement is in a foreign language, the party seeking to
enforce the award is required to produce a certified translated copy in English.
 ● Where the Court is satisfied that the foreign award is enforceable, the award
shall be deemed to be a decree of that Court.

ENFORCEMENT OF FOREIGN AWARDS (Section 58) Where the Court is

satisfied that the foreign award is enforceable, the award shall be deemed to be
a decree of the Court

Section 48 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996

Conditions for the enforcement of foreign award:- Enforcement of a

foreign award may be refused, at the request of the party against whom it is invoked,
only if that party furnishes to the court proof that :-

1. Incapacity: the parties to the agreement were, under some incapacity. It could
be the claimant’s incapacity or incapacity of both the parties.
2. . Invalidity of Agreement: the agreement is not valid under the law to which the
parties have subjected it or failing any indication thereon, under the law of the
country where the award was made.
3. . Inability to present his case:- He/she was not given proper notice of the
arbitral proceedings or any valid reason
4. Award exceeds reference: the award must not deal with questions not referred
or contain decisions on matters beyond the scope of the agreement.
5. Legality of composition of arbitral tribunal and procedure : enforcement of
any award may be refused if : -
a) The composition of the arbitral tribunal was not in
accordance with the agreement of the parties.
b) The arbitral procedure was not in accordance with the
agreement or the law of the country where the arbitration took place.
c) Award not yet binding, set aside or suspended.
6. Other grounds:- sub section (2) of Section 48 empowers the court to
refuse enforcement on two grounds
a) The subject matter of difference is not capable of settlement by arbitration
under law in India.
b) Contrary to public policy.

JURISDICTION – APPROPRIATE FORUM & LIMITATION

● The Act does not confer jurisdiction on the Indian courts to annul an
International Commercial Award made outside India.
 ● The power to annul an award is provided under section 34 in Part I of the
ACT, 1996
● . The applicability of that provision is limited to the awards made in India or
domestic awards. The powers of the Indian courts to set aside an award
relating to ICA are confined to those seated in India. Therefore, Indian
courts do not have jurisdiction to entertain a challenge to a foreign award
on its merits.

IN THE CASE OF
Sundaram Finance Ltd. v. Abdul Samad & Anr, the Supreme Court
held ‘the enforcement of an award through its execution can be filed
anywhere in the country where such decree can be executed’.

LIMITATION PERIOD As per the Limitation Act 1963, the period of

limitation for the execution of a decree (other than a decree granting
a mandatory injunction, in which case, it is three years) is twelve
years from the date of the decree. However, an application for
execution of a decree granting a perpetual injunction shall not be
subject to any period of limitation.