ABSTRACT
According to Lord Clarke ―Successful international commerce depends upon the enforcement of contracts, the enforcement of arbitration awards and the enforcement of judgments.
1 The United Nations Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, generally known as the New York Convention of 1958 (hereinafter referred to as the Convention) was created mainly to ensure enforcement foreign arbitral awards. The Convention ―is the foundation on which the whole of the edifice of international arbitration rests. Without the Convention the process could have no effective existence.
2 One of the main achievements of the Convention is, to unify the standards with regard to the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. It is important that the Contracting States exhibit uniformity in applying them. Not doing so creates uncertainty which is not in the interest of international arbitration and consequently international trade and commerce. This is because, ―Only uniform interpretation allows one to predict the chances of success of an application for recognition and enforcement, which in turn furthers certainty in cross- border contracts and reduces transaction costs.
3 The problem with the Convention is that some of its provisions are indeterminate and cryptic, which makes it ―(i) unreliable, (ii) unpredictable, and (iii) inconsistent.
4 The present study has selected five areas of concern in relation to the enforcement of foreign awards where the Contracting States lack uniformity.