Violation of Due Process under the New York Convention

According to the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards 1958 (the Convention), each contracting state must recognize foreign arbitral awards as binding and enforce them according to the rules of procedure of the territory where the award applies. However, the competent authority in the enforcing state may refuse to recognize and enforce the foreign award on the grounds stated in Article V(1) and (2). This provision ensures due legal process in arbitration proceedings, stating that a party against whom the award is invoked may request the court to refuse recognizing and enforcing the award if there is proof that party was not served with proper notice of the appointment of the arbitrator or of the arbitration proceedings or was otherwise unable to present the case. An analysis of relevant case law concludes that losing parties often raise this kind of objection, but the courts in the enforcing states tend to interpret the exceptions from Article V(1)(b) narrowly and only deny the enforcement of the award under limited circumstances of “serious” or “appalling” violation of due process. To avoid any challenges, the arbitral tribunal and the claimant must ensure that the arbitration process complies with due legal process as recognized under the Convention.