Arbitration Award - Appeals

Appeals

It is sometimes said that arbitration awards are not normally subject to appeal (often another reason given in favour of using arbitration), but that is usually an oversimplification.

Most countries in the world allow arbitration awards to be "challenged" although they usually limit the circumstances in which such challenges may be brought. The two most commonly permitted grounds of challenge are:

1. that the tribunal did not have jurisdiction to make the award; or
2. serious irregularity on the part of the tribunal.

Almost all countries require any challenges which are made to an award to also have been raised before the tribunal itself. The issues are not usually permitted to be raised for the first time after the award has been made.

Arbitration awards are non-justiciable. Distinguish from an "expert determination" where the expert determines a matter of fact (which is ordinarily not subject to any form of appeal at all, except in cases of obvious bias or manifest error or bad faith).

In addition, although not by way of challenge, many countries permit appeals on a point of law (although almost no countries permit appeals to be made in relation to findings of fact). This right is usually closely circumscribed to avoid undermining the commercial efficacy of arbitration.