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26 1954

ARBITRATION ACT, 1954

PART V.

Enforcement of certain foreign awards.

“Foreign award”.

54. —(1) (a) The Government, if satisfied that any State which has ratified the Convention of 1927 has made such reciprocal provisions as will enable the Convention of 1927 to be operative in any territory to which the Convention of 1927 is applicable, may by order declare—

(i) that State to be a party to the Convention of 1927,

(ii) that territory to be a territory to which the Convention of 1927 applies.

(b) The Government may by order vary or revoke any order made under this subsection.

(2) In this Part, “foreign award” means any award made after the commencement of this Part—

(a) in pursuance of an agreement for arbitration to which the Protocol of 1923 applies, and

(b) between persons—

(i) of whom one is subject to the jurisdiction of a State which is declared by an order under subsection (1) of this section to be a party to the Convention of 1927, and

(ii) of whom the other is subject to the jurisdiction of another such State, and

(c) in a territory which is declared by an order under subsection (1) of this section to be a territory to which the Convention of 1927 applies.

Effect of foreign awards.

55. —(1) A foreign award shall, subject to the provisions of this Part, be enforceable in the State either by action or in the same manner as an award of an arbitrator is enforceable by virtue of section 41 of this Act.

(2) Any foreign award which would be enforceable under this Part shall be treated as binding for all purposes on the persons as between whom it was made, and may accordingly be relied on by any of those persons by way of defence, set-off or otherwise in any legal proceedings in the State, and any references in this Part to enforcing a foreign award shall be construed as including references to relying on an award.

Conditions for enforcement of foreign awards.

56. —(1) In order that a foreign award may be enforceable under this Part it must have—

(a) been made in pursuance of an agreement for arbitration which was valid under the law by which it was governed,

(b) been made by the tribunal provided for in the agreement or constituted in manner agreed upon by the parties,

(c) been made in conformity with the law governing the arbitration procedure,

(d) become final in the country in which it was made,

(e) been in respect of a matter which may lawfully be referred to arbitration under the law of the State,

and the enforcement thereof must not be contrary to the public policy or the law of the State.

(2) Subject to subsection (3) of this section, a foreign award shall not be enforceable under this Part if the Court is satisfied that—

(a) the award has been annulled in the country in which it was made, or

(b) the party against whom it is sought to enforce the award was not given notice of the arbitration proceedings in sufficient time to enable him to present his case, or was under some legal incapacity and was not properly represented, or

(c) the award does not deal with all the questions referred or contains decisions beyond the scope of the agreement for arbitration.

(3) Where a foreign award does not deal with all the questions referred, the Court may, if it thinks fit, either postpone the enforcement of the award or order its enforcement subject to the giving of such security by the person seeking to enforce it as the Court may think fit.

(4) If the party seeking to resist the enforcement of a foreign award proves that there is any ground, other than the non-existence of the conditions specified in paragraphs (a) (b) and (c) of subsection (1) of this section or the existence of the conditions specified in paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection (2) of this section, entitling him to contest the validity of the award, the Court may, if it thinks fit, either refuse to enforce the award or adjourn the hearing until after the expiration of such period as appears to the Court to be reasonably sufficient to enable that party to take the necessary steps to have the award annulled by the competent tribunal.

Evidence.

57. —(1) The party seeking to enforce a foreign award must produce—

(a) the original award or a copy thereof duly authenticated in manner required by the law of the country in which it was made, and

(b) evidence proving that the award has become final, and

(c) such evidence as may be necessary to prove that the award is a foreign award and that the conditions specified in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of subsection (1) of section 56 of this Act are satisfied.

(2) In any case where any document required to be produced under subsection (1) of this section is in a language, other than one of the official languages, it shall be the duty of the party seeking to enforce the award to produce a translation certified as correct by a diplomatic or consular agent of the country to which that party belongs, or certified as correct in such other manner as may be sufficient according to the law of the State.

(3) Subject to the provisions of this section, rules of court may be made under section 36 of the Courts of Justice Act, 1924 (No. 10 of 1924), as amended by section 68 of the Courts of Justice Act, 1936 (No. 48 of 1936), with respect to the evidence which must be furnished by a party seeking to enforce a foreign award under this Part.

Meaning of “final award”.

58. —For the purposes of this Part, an award shall not be deemed final if any proceedings for the purposes of contesting the validity of the award are pending in the country in which it was made.

Saving for other rights, etc.

59. —Nothing in this Part shall—

(a) prejudice any rights which any person would have had of enforcing in the State any award or of availing himself in the State of an award if this Part had not been enacted, or

(b) apply to any award made on an arbitration agreement governed by the law of the State.