Arbitration is the most portable form of dispute resolution across the main markets because all eight are parties to the New York Convention, which has 172 parties. The seat decides the supervising court and the law on challenges; the Convention governs enforcement elsewhere, with narrow refusal grounds. Reservations matter: India applies the Convention only to awards from notified reciprocating territories and commercial relationships, and Saudi Arabia only to awards made in other contracting states.
Choosing the seat and the law of the arbitration agreement
The seat is the legal home of the arbitration: its courts supervise the process and hear challenges, and its law fills gaps. From 1 August 2025 the UK's Arbitration Act 2025 amendments apply, including a new rule that an arbitration agreement is governed by the law the parties expressly choose for it or, failing that, the law of the seat, and choosing a law for the main contract is not by itself such a choice. A clause naming London as the seat and English law as the contract law will therefore have its arbitration agreement governed by English law unless it says otherwise.12
Enforcement under the New York Convention
The Convention obliges contracting states to recognise and enforce foreign awards, subject to limited grounds for refusal. In England these are set out in the Arbitration Act 1996: incapacity, invalid agreement, lack of notice, excess of jurisdiction, irregular procedure, an award not yet binding or set aside, non-arbitrability and public policy. In India, the public policy ground is limited to fraud or corruption, contravention of the fundamental policy of Indian law and conflict with the most basic notions of morality or justice, without review of the merits.
Reservations change the map. India applies the Convention only to awards made in territories notified by the Central Government and to commercial relationships; Saudi Arabia and Singapore apply it only to awards made in other contracting states; the UAE's entry shows no reservations. Before choosing a seat, confirm that it is in a contracting state and, for enforcement in India, a notified territory.345678910
| Market | In force from | Reservations | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| India | 11 October 1960 | Reciprocity (notified territories) and commercial | UNCITRAL status table; Arbitration Act s44 |
| United Arab Emirates | 19 November 2006 | None shown | UNCITRAL status table |
| Saudi Arabia | 18 July 1994 | Reciprocity | UNCITRAL status table |
| Singapore | 19 November 1986 | Reciprocity | UNCITRAL status table |
| United Kingdom | Party | Refusal only on the grounds in Arbitration Act 1996 s103 | legislation.gov.uk |
Decisions to make
- Is the seat in a New York Convention state, and is it notified by India if enforcement in India is likely?76India enforces under the Convention only awards from notified territories.
- Does the clause state the law of the arbitration agreement?2For English-seated arbitrations the seat's law applies unless the parties expressly choose otherwise.
- Could enforcement be resisted on public policy grounds in the counterparty's country?5India confines the ground to three heads; Saudi practice may refuse enforcement contrary to Sharia (see enforcement module).
- Were arbitral proceedings commenced before 1 August 2025?1The UK amendments do not apply to proceedings commenced before they came into force.
Documents usually needed
- Arbitration clause naming the institution, seat, language, number of arbitrators and law of the arbitration agreement
- Signed original or certified copy of the arbitration agreement and award for enforcement
- Certified translations of the award into the language of the enforcing court
- Evidence that the award is binding at the seat
- Corporate authority of the signatory to agree arbitration
Common mistakes
- Choosing a seat that India has not notified when the counterparty's assets are in India
- Leaving the law of the arbitration agreement to implication
- Assuming an award can be reviewed on the merits at enforcement
- Naming an institution without naming a seat
- Not checking the enforcing country's reservations
Questions businesses ask
Will an Indian court enforce a London-seated award?
India enforces foreign awards under the New York Convention where the award was made in a notified territory and concerns a commercial relationship; the public policy ground is narrow and excludes review of the merits. Whether a given territory is notified should be checked in the Gazette.765
Does the UAE apply the New York Convention?
Yes. The UAE acceded in 2006, with entry into force on 19 November 2006, and the status table shows no reservations.10
What this guide does not yet confirm
These points need checking with a qualified local professional before you rely on them.
- SIAC Rules 2025 and LCIA Rules 2020 could not yet be checked (SIAC's site returned errors and LCIA URLs were outside the fetch provenance), so institutional rules, emergency arbitrator provisions and fee schedules are not stated.
- The list of territories India has notified under section 44 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act was not confirmed.
- UAE Civil Procedure Code rules on enforcing foreign awards (Federal Decree-Law No. 42 of 2022) could not yet be checked.
- Saudi Arbitration Law and Enforcement Law grounds for refusal were not confirmed on official texts.
- Grounds for refusal in Singapore (International Arbitration Act section 31), Germany (ZPO § 1061) and France could not yet be checked in full.
Sources and review status
Each statement is numbered to the source it was checked against. We use official sources where we can, and each statement says whether it was checked against an official or a secondary source. Sources last checked on 19 October 2026. None of it has been professionally reviewed yet: it is research checked against official and secondary sources by WONE Global, not legal or tax advice.
The Arbitration Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 24 February 2025, and its amendments to the Arbitration Act 1996 came into force on 1 August 2025 under the Arbitration Act 2025 (Commencement) Regulations 2025 (SI 2025/905). Sections 16 to 18 came into force on Royal Assent; the rest on 1 August 2025.
Royal Assent date taken from the annotation on section 17 ('in force at 24.2.2025, see s. 17(1)', which brings s17 into force on the day the Act is passed). The 1 August 2025 date for sections 1, 2, 7, 8, 11 and 15 was confirmed on each section page; regulation 2 of SI 2025/905 is headed 'Provision coming into force on 1st August 2025'. Reused from gb-disputes-g05.
Under new section 6A of the Arbitration Act 1996, an arbitration agreement is governed by the law the parties expressly agree applies to it or, failing that, the law of the seat; choosing a law for the main contract is not by itself an express choice for the arbitration agreement. Does not apply to arbitration agreements arising from standing offers in treaties or non-UK legislation (investor-state cases).
Reused from gb-disputes-g07.
The New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards has 172 parties. Count shown on the UNCITRAL status page when checked; all eight main markets are parties.
Saudi Arabia's entry carries only the reciprocity declaration; the UAE entry shows no declarations.
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, recognition or enforcement of a New York Convention award may be refused only on the listed grounds: incapacity, invalid arbitration agreement, lack of proper notice or inability to present the case, excess of jurisdiction, irregular composition or procedure, award not binding or set aside at the seat, non-arbitrability or public policy. Arbitration Act 1996, section 103(1) to (3). The resisting party must prove the section 103(2) grounds.
An Indian court may refuse to enforce a foreign award as contrary to the public policy of India only where it was induced or affected by fraud or corruption, contravenes the fundamental policy of Indian law or conflicts with the most basic notions of morality or justice, and the test does not allow a review on the merits. Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996, section 48(2)(b) and Explanations 1 and 2. Central law.
India signed the New York Convention on 10 June 1958, ratified it on 13 July 1960 and has applied it since 11 October 1960, with reservations limiting it to awards made in another contracting state and to differences arising from relationships considered commercial under Indian law. Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (1958); India's declarations correspond to footnotes (a) and (c) of the UNCITRAL status table.
Reused from in-disputes-001.
A foreign award under Indian law is an award on commercial differences made on or after 11 October 1960 under a written agreement to which the New York Convention applies, in a territory that the Central Government has declared by notification in the Official Gazette to be a territory to which the Convention applies. Section 44, Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 (Part II, Chapter I). Central law.
Consolidated text hosted by the IIAC; the cover reads 'Last update 12-3-2021' although the file name refers to 27.01.2023. India Code could not be fetched. Any amendment after March 2021 was not checked. The list of notified territories was not checked. Reused from in-disputes-g06.
Saudi Arabia acceded to the New York Convention on 19 April 1994, with entry into force on 18 July 1994, and applies it only to awards made in the territory of another contracting state. Saudi Arabia has made no commercial-relationship declaration under the Convention.
Reused from sa-disputes-001.
Singapore acceded to the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards on 21 August 1986, with entry into force on 19 November 1986, and applies it on the basis of reciprocity. Under the reciprocity declaration Singapore applies the Convention only to awards made in the territory of another contracting state.
The New York Convention contracting-states list also shows accession on 21 August 1986 and the reciprocity declaration. Reused from sg-disputes-004.
The UAE acceded to the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards on 21 August 2006, with entry into force on 19 November 2006, and the status table shows no declarations or reservations. Federal; applies to recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards.
Reused from ae-disputes-g01.
Questions on this topic
10 statements on arbitration and the new york convention
