9 The Enforcement of Arbitral Awards

Abstract

This concluding chapter explores the enforcement of arbitral awards. There are two primary laws relevant to the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards of international commercial arbitration in Russia: the Law on International Commercial Arbitration of 1993 and the Code of Commercial Court Procedure of 2002. The former has the basic provision on the recognition and enforcement of awards and the grounds for refusal, while the latter provides for the procedural aspects of recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards. It is an established principle of international commercial arbitration that in deciding whether enforcement of awards is allowed or not, courts are not entitled to review the case on its merits. However, Russian judges are not always aware of this fundamental rule, or do not comply with it. The chapter then looks at the grounds for the refusal of recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards and the way Russian courts interpret these grounds. Particularly important is the understanding of public order by Russian courts. Finally, the practice of ‘Russian Torpedo’ is discussed.