Translucent barriers that foreign award holders encounter when seeking to enforce the awards in India: navigating the Indian Judiciary

Abstract

The New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards should enable prevailing parties in international arbitrations to enforce awards in a timely manner in any of its 172 signatory countries. Nevertheless, when it comes to India there are considerable differences in the time and cost entailed by enforcement compared to the rest of Asia. This paper examines the different legal obstacles and reasons behind this situation and proposes some alternatives to try to improve the situation, which is not only harmful for interested parties but also damages India’s reputation.