The Myth of an Arbitrator’s Duty to Render an Enforceable Award: Theoretical Foundation and the Extent

Impressively, the stakeholders in modern times are resorting to international arbitration to resolve commercial disputes as it is often perceived as cheaper; more confidential; and less time-consuming than court proceedings, and the award is easier to enforce than a court decision. Hence, it would go into the vein if the arbitral awards- the result of such arbitral proceedings- render it unenforceable. As such, there is a robust proposition that it is incumbent on the Arbitrators to render an award enforceable. Thus, following a qualitative approach to legal research, this paper aims to explore the existence of such duty conferred upon the Arbitrator — especially in the case of international commercial arbitration, either by way of contract or vested automatically or legally. Moreover, it looks at the ancillary factors that should an arbitrator take into consideration while making a decision. This article has been designed in parts for a clear segregation of topics that have been covered. Following a glimpse of the integral issues in the introduction section in Part I, Part II roots the foundation of the myth of an arbitrator’s duty to render an enforceable award. Part III elucidates the nature of such duty, while Part IV explores the sources that confer such a duty upon the arbitrators. Furthermore, Part V portrays light on the factors ancillary to rendering an enforceable award and Part VI explains the Arbitrator’s duty to comply with an enforceable order followed by the concluding remarks as envisaged in the last part of the paper.