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Enforcing an Arbitral Award in Pakistan

How a domestic award becomes enforceable, and the additional route for foreign awards under the New York Convention framework.

An arbitral award is not automatically enforceable the way a court decree is. It generally needs a further legal step before it can actually be executed against the losing party.

Domestic awards

Under the Arbitration Act 1940, an award is generally filed in court and made a rule of court, after which it can be executed in the same manner as a decree. This step should not be treated as a formality — it is a necessary part of converting the award into something enforceable.

Foreign awards

Where the award was made outside Pakistan in a state party to the New York Convention, the Recognition and Enforcement (Arbitration Agreements and Foreign Arbitral Awards) Act 2011 provides the framework for recognition and enforcement in Pakistan.

Grounds to resist enforcement

Enforcement of an award can be resisted on limited grounds — such as the arbitration agreement being invalid, a party not having proper notice, or the award exceeding the scope of the agreement to arbitrate — rather than by reopening the merits already decided by the arbitrator.

What to do next

Bring the award itself and the underlying arbitration agreement, and address enforcement promptly rather than assuming the award is self-executing.

Written by

Waleed Mansoor

Advocate High Court · Founding Principal

LL.B., University of the Punjab. Diploma in Tax and Forensic Laws. Founder of LawBytes, and formerly Director of the Legal Leadership Forum. Practises across litigation, corporate, regulatory and immigration matters.

More about the practice

This is general legal information, not advice. It describes how a process generally works and does not address the facts of any particular matter. Reading it does not create a lawyer–client relationship, and outcomes depend on the specific facts of each case.

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