Cayman Court Confirms Interim Arbitration Awards May Be Enforced As Judgments

The wide-ranging enforceability of an arbitration award is one of the major attractions for seeking to arbitrate against clients with assets in different jurisdictions. The costs, length and complexity of arbitral proceedings may factor against them. In a helpful judgment of the Cayman Islands Grand Court, Justice Kawaley has confirmed, for the first time, that interim arbitration awards may be enforced as judgments in the Cayman Islands. This may provide a useful strategic opportunity for parties to ongoing arbitrations.

In the Cayman Islands, the Foreign Arbitral Awards Enforcement Act of 1997 (FAAEA) provides a straightforward process for the recognition of arbitration awards made in pursuance to an arbitration agreement of a state (other than the Cayman Islands) which is a party to the New York Convention (the 1958 UN Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards). For more detail see our 2021 article snapshot: enforcement of foreign