Pakistan Powers of High Courts to Stay Legal Proceedings and Protect the Right to Foreign Arbitration

Abstract

On 15 July 2011, Pakistan enacted the Recognition and Enforcement (Arbitration Agreements and Foreign Arbitral Awards) Act, 2011 ('REA'11'), which, per its preamble maintains that it has been enacted owing to the fact that Pakistan is a signatory to the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, 1958 (‘New York Convention’).REA'11 reproduces the provisions of the New York Convention within its schedule, and accordingly transposes the New York Convention into Pakistan’s national law. REA'11 also affords exclusive jurisdiction in a High Court as regards adjudications of matters that pertain to recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitration agreements and foreign arbitral awards.Pakistan’s High Courts have had a few opportunities to closely analyze the thresholds of REA'11, and the same have been highlighted in this paper.