To Enforce, Or Not To Enforce, That Is The Question

Introduction

Arbitration today has become a frequent and preferred way of dispute settlement – a far cry from the days of the Alabama claims between the United States and United Kingdom which were settled peacefully by arbitration in 1872 at the salle de l'Alabama of the Town Hall in Geneva, Switzerland. Over the years, arbitration has been used effectively to resolve a wide range of disputes – commercial, investment, trade, maritime, etc.

Yet, while there is no doubt, generally, about the efficacy of the process when compared to national court proceedings, an award rendered is of little value if it cannot be enforced or implemented swiftly.

This is perhaps all the more important in the context of awards rendered in investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) under Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs), International Investment Agreements (IIAs), Bilateral Investment Protection Agreements (BIPAs) and like thereof, the aim of which is to depoliticize the dispute