Arbitral Award

An arbitral award is the formal, written decision that an arbitral tribunal issues at the conclusion of arbitration proceedings. It resolves the dispute between the parties and specifies the relief granted — whether monetary, declaratory, or requiring a party to do or refrain from something.

Types of arbitral award

• Final award. Decides all remaining issues and brings the arbitration to an end.
• Interim award. Decides specific issues during the arbitration while others remain open.
• Award on agreed terms (consent award). Records a settlement reached by the parties during the arbitration and gives it the same force as a tribunal decision.
• Additional award. Issued if a claim presented during the arbitration was inadvertently omitted from the final award.

Enforcement

A domestic arbitral award becomes enforceable after the period to challenge it under Section 34 has passed (three months from receipt, plus 30 days if the court condones further delay) without a successful challenge. After that, it is enforced like any civil court decree — through the court's execution proceedings.

A foreign arbitral award from a New York Convention country is enforceable in India under Part II of the Act, subject to limited grounds for refusal.

Challenging an award

An award can be challenged in the High Court under Section 34, but only on specific grounds: jurisdictional defects, procedural irregularities that prejudiced a party, matters outside the scope of submission, or conflict with India's public policy. Courts do not review whether the tribunal decided correctly on the merits — only whether the process was legally valid.

The challenge period is three months from receipt of the award, with a possible further 30-day extension for sufficient cause. After that, the right to challenge is extinguished.

Awards made outside India follow a separate route; see enforcing a foreign arbitral award in India.