Domestic/Part I Award:
Section 36 of Part I of the Act deals with the enforcement of domestic award in India. In India, the enforcement and execution of domestic arbitral awards are governed by the reading of the act with CPC, dealing with the procedural laws with regard to execution of an award. According to section 35 of the Act, the award shall be final and binding on both the parties and is enforceable unless challenged under section 34 (i.e. application for setting aside arbitral award) of the Act. When the period for filing the objections has expired or objections have been rejected, the award gets enforced under CPC in a manner as if it were a decree delivered by a court of law.
The identification of the relevant court is important for the purpose of enforcement. In Sundaram Finance Limited v. Abdul Samad and Anr., 2018, the Supreme Court clarified that an application for enforcement of a domestic arbitration award can be filed at any jurisdiction in India where the assets of the opposite party are located and there is no requirement for obtaining a transfer of the decree from the Court which has jurisdiction over arbitral proceedings.
Foreign/Part II award:
Part II of the Act deals with enforcement of foreign awards in India. India recognises foreign awards under the New York Convention and the Geneva Convention. The enforcement of a foreign award in India is initiated by filing an enforcement petition, and then the court would determine whether the foreign award adhered to the requirements of the Act. The court, before taking further effective steps for the enforcement of the award has to proceed in accordance with section 47 to 49 of the Act. Section 49 of the Act provides that when the court is satisfied that an award is enforceable, it may be enforced like a decree of that court and no appeal shall lie against the award except for a discretionary appeal to Supreme Court of India under Article 136 of the Constitution of India when it is a question of fundamental importance or public interest. But in the case of an award held to be non-enforceable by the court, an appeal may be allowed under section 50(1)(b) of the Act.
According to section 47 of the Act a person seeking to enforce a foreign arbitral award shall provide the original award or its certified copy; original arbitration agreement or its duly certified copy; and if the award or agreement is in a foreign language, the party seeking to enforce must produce a certified copy of a foreign award translated into English and/or any other evidence to establish that the award is a foreign award.
It is important that the ‘Court’ for the purpose of enforcement is being defined in explanation to Section 47 which means High Court having original jurisdiction to decide the question forming the subject-matter of the arbitral award if the same had been the subject matter of the suit on its original civil jurisdiction and in other cases, in the High Court having jurisdiction to hear appeals from the decree of its subordinate Court.