Commercial Arbitration and
Other Alternative Dispute Resolution Methods

The New York Convention

Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards

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Article I

1. This Convention shall apply to the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards made in the territory of a State other than the State where the recognition and enforcement of such awards are sought, and arising out of differences between persons, whether physical or legal. It shall also apply to arbitral awards not considered as domestic awards in the State where their recognition and enforcement are sought.

2. The term "arbitral awards" shall include not only awards made by arbitrators appointed for each case but also those made by permanent arbitral bodies to which the parties have submitted.

3. When signing, ratifying or acceding to this Convention, or notifying extension under article X hereof, any State may on the basis of reciprocity declare that it will apply the Convention to the recognition and enforcement of awards made only in the territory of another Contracting State. It may also declare that it will apply the Convention only to differences arising out of legal relationships, whether contractual or not, which are considered as commercial under the national law of the State making such declaration.

Article II

1. Each Contracting State shall recognize an agreement in writing under which the parties undertake to submit to arbitration all or any differences which have arisen or which may arise between them in respect of a defined legal relationship, whether contractua1 or not, concerning a subject matter capable of settlement by arbitration.

2. The term "agreement in writing" shall include an arbitral clause in a contract or an arbitration agreement, signed by the parties or contained in an exchange of letters or telegrams.

3. The court of a Contracting State, when seized of an action in a matter in respect of which the parties have made an agreement within the meaning of this article, shall, at the request of one of the parties, refer the parties to arbitration, unless it finds that the said agreement is null and void, inoperative or incapable of being performed.

Article III

Each Contracting State shall recognize arbitral awards as binding and enforce them in accordance with the rules of procedure of the territory where the award is relied upon, under the conditions laid down in the following articles. There shall not be imposed substantially more onerous conditions or higher fees or charges on the recognition or enforcement of arbitral awards to which this Convention applies than are imposed on the recognition or enforcement of domestic arbitral awards.

Article IV

1. To obtain the recognition and enforcement mentioned in the preceding article, the party applying for recognition and enforcement shall, at the time of the application, supply:

(a) The duly authenticated original award or a duly certified copy thereof;

(b) The original agreement referred to in article II or a duly certified copy thereof.

2. If the said award or agreement is not made in an official language of the country in which the award is relied upon, the party applying for recognition and enforcement of the award shall produce a translation of these documents into such language. The translation shall be certified by an official or sworn translator or by a diplomatic or consular agent.

Article V

1. Recognition and enforcement of the award may be refused, at the request of the party against whom it is invoked, only if that party furnishes to the competent authority where the recognition and enforcement is sought, proof that:

(a) The parties to the agreement referred to in article II were, under the law applicable to them, under some incapacity, or the said agreement is not valid under the law to which the parties have subjected it or, failing any indication thereon, under the law of the country where the award was made; or

(b) The party against whom the award is invoked was not given proper notice of the appointment of the arbitrator or of the arbitration proceedings or was otherwise unable to present his case; or

(c) The award deals with a difference not contemplated by or not falling within the terms of the submission to arbitration, or it contains decisions on matters beyond the scope of the submission to arbitration, provided that, if the decisions on matters submitted to arbitration can be separated from those not so submitted, that part of the award which contains decisions on matters submitted to arbitration may be recognized and enforced; or

(d) The composition of the arbitral authority or the arbitral procedure was not in accordance with the agreement of the parties, or, failing such agreement, was not in accordance with the law of the country where the arbitration took place; or

(e) The award has not yet become binding, on the parties, or has been set aside or suspended by a competent authority of the country in which, or under the law of which, that award was made.

2. Recognition and enforcement of an arbitral award may also be refused if the competent authority in the country where recognition and enforcement is sought finds that:

(a) The subject matter of the difference is not capable of settlement by arbitration under the law of that country; or

(b) The recognition or enforcement of the award would be contrary to the public policy of that country.

Article VI

If an application for the setting, aside or suspension of the award has been made to a competent authority referred to in article V (1) (e), the authority before which the award is sought to be relied upon may, if it considers it proper, adjourn the decision on the enforcement of the award and may also, on the application of the party claiming, enforcement of the award, order the other party to give suitable security.

Article VII

1. The provisions of the present Convention shall not affect the validity of multilateral or bilateral agreements concerning the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards entered into by the Contracting States nor deprive any interested party of any right he may have to avail himself of an arbitral award in the manner and to the extent allowed by the law or the treaties of the country where such award is sought to be relied upon.

2. The Geneva Protocol on Arbitration Clauses of 1923 and the Geneva Convention on the Execution of Foreign Arbitral Awards of 1927 shall cease to have effect between Contracting States on their becoming bound and to the extent that they become bound, by this convention.

Article VIII

1. This Convention shall be open until 31 December 1958 for signature on behalf of any Member of the United Nations and also on behalf of any other State which is or hereafter becomes a member of any specialized agency of the United Nations, or which is or hereafter becomes a party to the Statute of the International Court of Justice, or any other State to which an invitation has been addressed by the General Assembly of the United Nations.

2. This Convention shall be ratified and the instrument of ratification shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Article IX

1. This Convention shall be open for accession to all States referred to in article VIII.

2. Accession shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument of accession with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Article X

1. Any State may, at the time of signature, ratification or accession, declare that this Convention shall extend to all or any of the territories for the international relations of which it is responsible. Such a declaration shall take effect when the Convention enters into force for the State concerned.

2. At any time thereafter any such extension shall be made by notification addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and shall take effect as from the ninetieth day after the day of receipt by the Secretary-General of the United Nations of this notification, or as from the date of entry into force of the Convention for the State concerned, whichever is the later.

3. With respect to those territories to which this Convention is not extended at the time of signature, ratification or accession, each State concerned shall consider the possibility of taking the necessary steps in order to extend the application of this Convention to such territories, subject, where necessary for constitutional reasons, to the consent of the Governments of such territories.

Article XI

In the case of a federal or non-unitary State, the following provisions shall apply:

(a) With respect to those articles of this Convention that come within the legislative jurisdiction of the federal authority, the obligations of the federal Government shall to this extent be the same as those of Contracting States which are not federal States;

(b) With respect to those articles of this Convention that come within the legislative jurisdiction of constituent states or provinces which are not, under the constitutional system of the federation, bound to take legislative action, the federal Government shall bring such articles with a favourable recommendation to the notice of the appropriate authorities of constituent states or provinces at the earliest possible moment;

(c) A federal State Party to this Convention shall, at the request of any other Contracting
State transmitted through the Secretary-General of the United Nations, supply a statement of the law and practice of the federation and its constituent units in regard to any particular provision of this Convention, showing the extent to which effect has been given to that provision by legislative or other action.

Article XII

1. This Convention shall come into force on the ninetieth day following the date of deposit of the third instrument of ratification or accession.

2. For each State ratifying or acceeding to this Convention after the deposit of the third instrument of ratification or accession, this Convention shall enter into force on the ninetieth day after deposit by such State of its instrument of ratification or accession.

Article XIII

1. Any Contracting State may denounce this Convention by a written notification to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Denunciation shall take effect one year after the date of receipt of the notification by the Secretary-General.

2. Any State which has made a declaration or notification under article X may, at any time thereafter, by notification to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, declare that this Convention shall cease to extend to the territory concerned one year after the date of the receipt of the notification by the Secretary-General.

3. This Convention shall continue to be applicable to arbitral awards in respect of which recognition or enforcement proceedings have been instituted before the denunciation takes effect.

Article XIV

A Contracting State shall not be entitled to avail itself of the present Convention against other Contracting States except to the extent that it is itself bound to apply the Convention.

Article XV

The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall notify the States contemplated in article VIII of the following:

(a) Signatures and ratifications in accordance with article VIII;

(b) Accessions in accordance with article IX;

(c) Declarations and notifications under articles I, X and XI;

(d) The date upon which this Convention enters into force in accordance with article XII;

(e) Denunciations and notifications in accordance with article XIII.

Article XVI

1. This Convention, of which the Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish texts shall be equally authentic, shall be deposited in the archives of the United Nations.

2. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall transmit a certified copy of this Convention to the States contemplated in article VIII. 

Note

1. The Convention went into force on 7 June 1959

CONVENTION ON THE RECOGNITION AND ENFORCEMENT OF FOREIGN ARBITRAL AWARDS

Done at New York on 10 June 1958 

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 7 June 1959, in accordance with article XII. 

REGISTRATION: 7 June 1959, No. 4739. 

TEXT: United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 330, p. 3. 

STATUS: Signatories: 24. Parties: 120. 

Note: The Convention was prepared and opened for signature on 10 June 1958 by the United Nations Conference on International Commercial Arbitration, convened in accordance with resolution 604 (XXI)¹ of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations adopted on 3 May 1956. The Conference met at the Headquarters of the United Nations in New York from 20 May to 10 June 1958. For the text of the Final Act of this Conference, see United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 330, p. 3. 

 

PARTICIPANT	SIGNATURE	RATIFICATION,  ACCESSION (A), SUCCESSION (D)
Algeria	7 Feb 1989	a
Antigua and Barbuda	2 Feb 1989	a
Argentina	26 Aug 1958	14 Mar 1989
Armenia	29 Dec 1997	a
Australia	26 Mar 1975	a
Austria	2 May 1961	a
Bahrain	6 Apr 1988	a
Bangladesh	6 May 1992	a
Barbados	16 Mar 1993	a
Belarus	29 Dec 1958	15 Nov 1960
Belgium	10 Jun 1958	18 Aug 1975
Benin	16 May 1974	a
Bolivia	28 Apr 1995	a
Bosnia and Herzegovina	1 Sep 1993	d
Botswana	20 Dec 1971	a
Brunei Darussalam	25 Jul 1996	a
Bulgaria	17 Dec 1958	10 Oct 1961
Burkina Faso	23 Mar 1987	a
Cambodia	5 Jan 1960	a
Cameroon	19 Feb 1988	a
Canada	12 May 1986	a
Central African Republic	15 Oct 1962	a
Chile	4 Sep 1975	a
China2	22 Jan 1987	a
Colombia	25 Sep 1979	a
Costa Rica	10 Jun 1958	26 Oct 1987
Côte d'Ivoire	1 Feb 1991	a
Croatia	26 Jul 1993	d
Cuba	30 Dec 1974	a
Cyprus	29 Dec 1980	a
Czech Republic3	30 Sep 1993	d
Denmark	22 Dec 1972	a
Djibouti	14 Jun 1983	d
Dominica	28 Oct 1988	a
Ecuador	17 Dec 1958	3 Jan 1962
Egypt	9 Mar 1959	a
El Salvador	10 Jun 1958	26 Feb 1998
Estonia	30 Aug 1993	a
Finland	29 Dec 1958	19 Jan 1962
France	25 Nov 1958	26 Jun 1959
Georgia	2 Jun 1994	a
Germany4,5	10 Jun 1958	30 Jun 1961
Ghana	9 Apr 1968	a
Greece	16 Jul 1962	a
Guatemala	21 Mar 1984	a
Guinea	23 Jan 1991	a
Haiti	5 Dec 1983	a
Holy See	14 May 1975	a
Hungary	5 Mar 1962	a
India	10 Jun 1958	13 Jul 1960
Indonesia	7 Oct 1981	a
Ireland	12 May 1981	a
Israel	10 Jun 1958	5 Jan 1959
Italy	31 Jan 1969	a
Japan	20 Jun 1961	a
Jordan	10 Jun 1958	15 Nov 1979
Kazakhstan	20 Nov 1995	a
Kenya	10 Feb 1989	a
Kuwait	28 Apr 1978	a
Kyrgyzstan	18 Dec 1996	a
Lao People's  Democratic Republic	17 Jun 1998	a
Latvia	14 Apr 1992	a
Lebanon	11 Aug 1998	a
Lesotho	13 Jun 1989	a
Lithuania	14 Mar 1995	a
Luxembourg	11 Nov 1958	9 Sep 1983
Madagascar	16 Jul 1962	a
Malaysia	5 Nov 1985	a
Mali	8 Sep 1994	a
Mauritania	30 Jan 1997	a
Mauritius	19 Jun 1996	a
Mexico	14 Apr 1971	a
Monaco	31 Dec 1958	2 Jun 1982
Mongolia	24 Oct 1994	a
Morocco	12 Feb 1959	a
Mozambique	11 Jun 1998	a
Nepal	4 Mar 1998	a
Netherlands	10 Jun 1958	24 Apr 1964
New Zealand	6 Jan 1983	a
Niger	14 Oct 1964	a
Nigeria	17 Mar 1970	a
Norway	14 Mar 1961	a
Pakistan	30 Dec 1958
Panama	10 Oct 1984	a
Paraguay	8 Oct 1997	a
Peru	7 Jul 1988	a
Philippines	10 Jun 1958	6 Jul 1967
Poland	10 Jun 1958	3 Oct 1961
Portugal	18 Oct 1994	a
Republic of Korea	8 Feb 1973	a
Republic of Moldova	18 Sep 1998	a
Romania	13 Sep 1961	a
Russian Federation	29 Dec 1958	24 Aug 1960
San Marino	17 May 1979	a
Saudi Arabia	19 Apr 1994	a
Senegal	17 Oct 1994	a
Singapore	21 Aug 1986	a
Slovakia3	28 May 1993	d
Slovenia	6 Jul 1992	d
South Africa	3 May 1976	a
Spain	12 May 1977	a
Sri Lanka	30 Dec 1958	9 Apr 1962
Sweden	23 Dec 1958	28 Jan 1972
Switzerland	29 Dec 1958	1 Jun 1965
Syrian Arab Republic6	9 Mar 1959	a
Thailand	21 Dec 1959	a
the former Yugoslav  Republic of Macedonia	10 Mar 1994	d
Trinidad and Tobago	14 Feb 1966	a
Tunisia	17 Jul 1967	a
Turkey	2 Jul 1992	a
Uganda	12 Feb 1992	a
Ukraine	29 Dec 1958	10 Oct 1960
United Kingdom	24 Sep 1975	a
United Republic of Tanzania	13 Oct 1964	a
United States of America	30 Sep 1970	a
Uruguay	30 Mar 1983	a
Uzbekistan	7 Feb 1996	a
Venezuela	8 Feb 1995	a
Viet Nam	12 Sep 1995	a
Yugoslavia	26 Feb 1982	a
Zimbabwe	29 Sep 1994	a

Declarations and Reservations
(Unless otherwise indicated, the declarations and reservations were made upon ratification,
accession or succession. For objections thereto and territorial applications, see hereinafter.) 

. . .

Antigua and Barbuda 

Declarations: 

"In accordance with article I, the Government of Antigua and Barbuda declares that it will apply the Convention on the basis of reciprocity only to the recognition and enforcement of awards made in the territory of another contracting state. 

The Government of Antigua and Barbuda also declares that it will apply the Convention only to differences arising out of legal relationships, whether contractual or not, which are considered as commercial under the laws of Antigua and Barbuda."

Argentina⁷

Upon signature:

Subject to the declaration contained in the Final Act. 

Upon ratification: 

On the basis of reciprocity, the Republic of Argentina will apply the Convention only to the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards made in the territory of another Contracting State. It will also apply the Convention only to differences arising out of legal relationships, whether contractual or not, which are considered as commercial under its national law. 

The Convention will be interpreted in accordance with the principles and clauses of the National Constitution in force or those resulting from modification made by virtue of the Constitution. 

. . .

Barbados 

Declaration:

" (i) In accordance with article 1 (3) of the Convention, the Government of Barbados declares that it will apply the Convention on the basis of reciprocity to the recognition and enforcement of awards made only in the territory of another Contracting State. 

(ii) The Government of Barbados will also apply the Convention only to differences arising out of legal relationships, whether contractual or not which are considered as commercial under the laws of Barbados." 

. . .

Canada 

22 November 1988

"The Government of Canada declares that it will apply the Convention only to differences arising out of legal relationships, whether contractual or not, which are considered as commercial under the laws of Canada, except in the case of the Province of Quebec where the law does not provide for such limitation." 

. . .

Ecuador 

Ecuador, on a basis of reciprocity, will apply the Convention to the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards made in the territory of another contracting State only if such awards have been made with respect to differences arising out of legal relationships which are regarded as commercial under Ecuadorian law. 

. . .

Guatemala

On the basis of reciprocity, the Republic of Guatemala will apply the above Convention to the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards made only in the territory of another contracting State; and will apply it only to differences arising out of legal relationships, whether contractual or not, which are considered as commercial under its national law. 

. . .

Trinidad and Tobago 

"In accordance with article I of the Convention, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago declares that it will apply the Convention to the recognition and enforcement of awards made only in the territory of another Contracting State. The Government of Trinidad and Tobago further declares that it will apply the Convention only to differences arising out of legal relationships, whether contractual or not, which are considered as commercial under the Law of Trinidad and Tobago." 

. . .

United States of America

"The United States of America will apply the Convention, on the basis of reciprocity, to the recognition and enforcement of only those awards made in the territory of another Contracting State. 

"The United States of America will apply the Convention only to differences arising out of legal relationships, whether contractual or not, which are considered as commercial under the national law of the United States." 

Venezuela 

Declarations:

(a) The Republic of Venezuela will apply the Convention only to the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards made in the territory of another Contracting State. 

(b) The Republic of Venezuela will apply the present Convention only to differences arising out of legal relationships, whether contractual or not, which are considered as commercial under its national law. 

. . .

Objections
(Unless otherwise indicated, the objections were received upon
ratification, accession or succession.) 

Germany 4 

29 December 1989 

The Federal Republic of Germany is of the opinion that the second paragraph of the declaration of the Argentine Republic represents a reservation and as such is not only contradictory to article I (3) of the Convention but is also vague and hence inadmissible; it therefore raises an objection to that reservation. 

In all other respects this objection is not intended to prevent the entry into force of the Convention between the Argentine Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany. 

Territorial Application

 

PARTICIPANT	DATE OF RECEIPT OF THE NOTIFICATION	TERRITORIES
Netherlands	24 Apr 1964	Netherlands Antilles, Suriname
United Kingdom	24 Sep 1975 21 Jan 1977 22 Feb 1979 14 Nov 1979 26 Nov 1980 19 Apr 1985	Gibraltar Hong Kong Isle of Man  Bermuda  Belize, Cayman Islands  Guernsey
United States of America	3 Nov 1970	All the territories for the international relations of which the United States of America is responsible

Declarations and reservations made upon notification of territorial application

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 
Belize, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Guernsey 

[The Convention will apply] . . . "in accordance with article I, paragraph 3 thereof, only to the recognition and enforcement of awards made in the territory of another Contracting State." 

NOTES: 

⁷ The Declaration made upon signature and contained in the Final Act read as follows:

“If another Contracting Party extends the application of the Convention to territories which fall within the sovereignty of the Argentine Republic, the rights of the Argentine Republic shall in no way be affected by that extension.”