THE EFFECTS OF ANNULMENT OF ARBITRATION AWARDS

Abstract

The subject of this paper is the legal outcome and effects of annulment of the arbitration awards. The annulled arbitration award does not produce any legal effect in the country in which it was annulled, neither in any other country, which means that its recognition, i.e. execution, cannot be achieved. However, there are certain exceptions on the basis of which an arbitral award may be recognized and enforced in some countries despite having been annulled. This possibility derives from the European Convention on International Commercial Arbitration from Geneva, 1961 and the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards from New York, 1958. The dilemma in arbitration legal science is whether such a procedural possibility should exist at all. My research shows that some jurisdictions have a stricter regime for instance - the one in the United States of America where arbitration legislation does not allow an annulled arbitral award by the host country to produce legal effect on its territory, while France has a much more liberal regime. Regarding the legal outcome of annulled arbitration decisions, the following dilemmas are also present: which forum is competent for further dispute resolution - state court or arbitration, what happens with the arbitration agreement and with the mandate of the arbitration court. The purpose of this paper is to provide an answer to most dilemmas regarding the legal outcome and effects of annulment of arbitration decisions through a comparative review of legal norms and judicial practice in countries with different legal systems.