International Council

A must read paper issued by #ICSID recently, where here we summarize its main points:

Firstly, the ICSID Convention obligates member states to recognize and enforce arbitral awards as if they were final judgments of their courts, ensuring that awards are not subject to appeals or external review except as allowed by the Convention itself The Convention explicitly distinguishes between recognition, enforcement, and execution, with domestic laws governing the execution of awards, potentially including sovereign immunity from execution. Additionally, despite initial considerations to include grounds for refusal of enforcement similar to the New York Convention, such as public policy defenses, these were ultimately excluded from the ICSID framework. Instead, the Convention maintains a more streamlined and obligatory approach, reinforcing the finality and enforceability of awards across member states. Finally, in practice, most parties voluntarily comply with awards, with relatively few cases proceeding to formal enforcement, indicating a general respect for the arbitration outcomes under the ICSID Convention.

Nabil Al Jawhari

International Council Lebanon

#ICArb