Enforcement Of Domestic Arbitral Awards - The Jurisdiction Conundrum

Introduction  

Chapter VIII of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 [as amended by the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2015] (hereinafter, the "Act") deals with finality and enforcement of arbitral awards. Section 36 (1) of the Act dealing with enforcement of an award states that where the time for making an application to set aside the arbitral award under Section 34 of the Act has expired, then subject to a stay granted by the Court on the operation of the award, such award shall be enforced in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908) (hereinafter, the "Code") as if it were a decree of the court. Section 36 of the Act makes it clear that the arbitral tribunal does not have the power to execute the award itself and for the purpose of enforcement, the award shall be enforced in accordance with the provisions of the Code in the same manner as if it were a decree of the court. Therefore, the enforcement