The international arbitral award: from drafting to enforcement

By Yasmine EDDAM4 April 2025

After months, even years, of exchanging briefs, producing exhibits and holding hearings, the arbitration process is drawing to a close. The culmination of this process is the arbitral awardAn award is a decision by an arbitral tribunal to settle a dispute submitted to it. But what exactly is an award? How do the arbitrators arrive at this final decision? What is its legal value and, above all, how can it be enforced in practice, in France or abroad? This article explores the journey of the international arbitral award, from the secret deliberations of the arbitrators to the procedures for making it enforceable.

What is an arbitration award?

The arbitral award is the judicial act by which the arbitral tribunal exercises the power of judgement conferred on it by the parties. It differs from simple procedural orders (which organise the conduct of the proceedings) in that it makes a final decision on all or part of the dispute. This includes decisions on the merits of the case, but also those that rule on the court's jurisdiction or on a procedural ground that puts an end to the proceedings (such as a statute of limitations).

An award can be qualified in different ways depending on its purpose or the time at which it is made:

Final award : It decides on all matters submitted to the arbitrators and terminates their assignment.
Partial award : It decides on only part of the claims (for example, on the principle of liability before ruling on the amount of the loss).
Preliminary ruling : It orders a measure (for example, an expert opinion) that is necessary before it can rule on the merits of the case, but has already settled a point of contention linked to this measure.
Award of agreement : If the parties reach a settlement in the course of the proceedings, they may ask the arbitrators to record their agreement in an award. To have the force of an award, the arbitrators must record the agreement of the parties; simple homologation is not always sufficient.

The term "award" is important because only awards (and not mere procedural orders) have the force of res judicata and may be enforced or subject to the remedies specific to arbitration.

Sentencing: deliberation

When the arbitral tribunal is made up of several arbitrators (the most frequent case being three), the decision is the fruit of a consensus. deliberate. Although the Code of Civil Procedure only mentions it explicitly in terms of its secret nature (article 1479, applicable via article 1506), deliberation is an essential stage and a fundamental requirement arising from the principle of collegiality. Each arbitrator must have had the opportunity to discuss and compare his views with his colleagues on all aspects of the dispute before the final decision is made.

The deliberation takes place in secret. No third party may attend. The arbitrators may meet in person (not necessarily at the seat of the arbitration) or deliberate by videoconference or written exchange.

The very existence of deliberation is presumed when the award is signed by all the arbitrators (or a majority). The practice of dissenting opinionsIn international arbitration, an arbitrator's opinion in writing expressing disagreement with the majority decision is accepted and does not in itself violate the secrecy of the deliberations, even if it can sometimes fuel subsequent disputes. However, such an opinion is not an integral part of the award itself.

What is the deadline for the award?

Unlike French domestic arbitration, which provides for a statutory time limit by default (article 1463, paragraph 1), there is no mandatory legal deadline to make an award in an international arbitration governed by French law.

The applicable time limit, if any, is therefore based solely on :

From the agreement of the parties (arbitration clause or compromise).
From themission statement.
From arbitration rules institution chosen by the parties (which often sets a deadline, e.g. six months from the date of the Terms of Reference for the CCI).

If a time limit is set, the arbitrators are obliged to respect it. This is an important obligation arising from their terms of reference. If the time limit is unjustifiably exceeded, the award may be set aside for failure to comply with the terms of reference (article 1520-3°) and the arbitrators may be held liable.

However, this period may be extended. The extension may be the result of an express agreement by the parties, but also of a tacit agreement (for example, if the parties continue to participate actively in the proceedings after the expiry of the initial time limit without raising any objections). Institutional arbitration rules also generally provide for the possibility of the institution extending the time limit, either on its own initiative or at the request of the arbitrators. Lastly, the supporting judge may be asked to obtain an extension if the conditions are met (article 1463, paragraph 2, applicable via 1506).

Form and content of the award

In international matters, French law is very flexible as regards the form of the award. Article 1507 sets aside any particular form requirement. However, if French procedural law is applicable (by choice of the parties or via Article 1506) and unless otherwise agreed, certain particulars set out in Article 1481 become mandatory (names of the parties, their counsel and the arbitrators, date and place of the award). The absence of these particulars is not, however, a specific case of setting aside in international arbitration.

La signature of the award is crucial. Article 1513 of the Code of Civil Procedure stipulates that the award must be made by a majority vote (in the case of a collegiate tribunal) and signed by all the arbitrators. If a minority refuses to sign, the award must mention this and is nevertheless effective. If there is no majority, the chairman of the arbitral tribunal has the power to rule alone and to sign the award alone.

As for the contentIn this case, it will depend on whether the arbitrators rule "en droit" (by applying the chosen rules of law) or "en amiable composition" (in equity, if the parties have given them the power to do so - article 1512).

Is a statement of the reasons for the sentence a requirement?

The question of whether an international arbitration award must be reasoned (i.e. explain the factual and legal grounds on which the decision is based) is an important one.

French international arbitration law does not a general obligation to state reasons (unlike in domestic arbitration, where Article 1482 requires this on pain of nullity). The absence of a statement of reasons is not in itself considered contrary to French international public policy.

However, there are a number of reasons for this, in practice, the vast majority of international awards are reasoned. Why is this?

Because the parties often agree in their agreement or mission statement.
Because the chosen foreign procedural law can impose it.
Because virtually all institutional arbitration rules (for example, article 32.2 of the ICC 2021 Rules).

If a statement of reasons is required (by one of these sources), its absence constitutes a failure by the arbitrator to fulfil his duties, which may result in the annulment of the award on the basis of Article 1520-3°.

It should be emphasised that where a statement of reasons is required, the judge ruling on annulment only reviews its existence, not its quality or relevance. A statement of reasons that is deemed to be weak, erroneous or even contradictory does not in itself constitute grounds for annulment.

The authority of the arbitration award

Once made, the arbitration award immediately acquires res judicata in relation to the dispute it is deciding (article 1484 of the Code of Civil Procedure, applicable via 1506).

This means that :

The decision is binding on the parties with the same force as a final judgment.
The points decided by the award can no longer be challenged before another court (whether arbitral or state), except by exercising the specific remedies provided by law. This is the negative effect of res judicata.
Unlike in French state judgements, where only the "dispositive" part has the authority of res judicata, in arbitration, this authority attaches to the entire decision, including the reasons that support it.

The arbitral tribunal is no longer involved in the dispute. It may no longer modify its decision, except in the limited cases provided for by law (article 1485, applicable via 1506):

Correction of material errors (calculation, name...).
Interpretation of the sentence if it is obscure.
Additional information of the award in the event of failure to rule on a head of claim (infra petita). These applications must be submitted to the arbitral tribunal within three months of notification of the award.

Recognition and enforcement in France

An arbitration award, even an international one, cannot be enforced by force in France without the intervention of a state judge. A decision called exequatur.

French procedure is designed to be simple and rapid (articles 1514 to 1517 of the Code of Civil Procedure):

Competence : The claim is brought before the President of the Tribunal Judiciaire (of the place where the award was made if it was made in France; of Paris if it was made abroad).
Procedure: This is done by unilateral request (ex parte), without adversarial debate at this stage. The party applying for exequatur must produce the original award (or a certified copy) and the arbitration agreement (with translations if necessary - article 1515).
Decision : The judge grants the exequatur (by an order affixed to the award) unless the recognition or enforcement of the award is clearly contrary to French international public policy (article 1514). Control is therefore very limited at this stage.

It is also possible to request the simple recognition of the award (to give it legal effect in France without seeking enforcement), under the same conditions.

Recognition and enforcement abroad

To have an arbitration award (made in France or elsewhere) recognised and enforced in another country, the key instrument is the 1958 New York Convention.

Ratified by almost all economically important countries, it establishes a regime that is very favourable to enforcement:

Presumption of enforceability : The party seeking enforcement need only produce the award and the arbitration agreement.
Limited grounds for refusal (Article V) : The party against whom enforcement is sought must prove the existence of one of the grounds for refusal listed exhaustively:
- Incapacity of the parties or invalidity of the arbitration agreement.
- Violation of the rights of the defence (not informed, unable to defend oneself).
- Award going beyond the remit of the arbitrators (ultra petita).
- Irregular constitution of the court or procedure not in accordance with the agreement of the parties or the law of the seat.
- Award not yet binding, or annulled/suspended in its country of origin.
Grounds raised ex officio by the judge (Article V.2) :
- Inarbitrability of the dispute under the law of the country of performance.
- Infringement of public policy in the country of enforcement.

Thanks to its most favourable law clause (Article VII), the New York Convention allows the application of more liberal national rules. France is known for its very favourable approach: French case law (Hilmarton, Putrabali) allows, for example, the enforcement in France of an award that would have been set aside in its country of origin, considering that the international award is not anchored in a particular national legal system.

Provisional enforcement of the award

An important point of French law (article 1526 of the Code of Civil Procedure) is that exercise of a right of appeal (action to set aside an award made in France, or appeal against the exequatur order) does not suspend enforcement of the award.

This means that once the exequatur has been obtained in France, the award can be enforced immediately, even if an appeal is pending. It is not necessary for the arbitrators to have ordered provisional enforcement.

However, to avoid prejudicial situations, the party who lodged the appeal may ask the First President of the Court of Appeal (or the Conseiller de la mise en état) tostop or develop provisional enforcement. This request will only be granted if enforcement is "likely to seriously prejudice the rights" of that party, a condition interpreted very strictly by the courts.

An international arbitration award is therefore a highly authoritative judicial decision that benefits from effective mechanisms for its recognition and enforcement, both in France and abroad, reflecting French law's preference for this method of dispute resolution.

Obtaining a favourable award is a key step, but ensuring its recognition and enforcement can present challenges. To navigate these procedures in France or abroad, our firm puts its expertise at your service.

Sources

Code of Civil Procedure (in particular articles 1463, 1479, 1481, 1482, 1484, 1485, 1506, 1507, 1511-1517, 1520, 1526)
New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (1958)
Key case law (listed by way of illustration: Cass. Civ. 1ère, 9 Oct. 1984, NorsolorCass. Civ. 1ère, March 23, 1994, HilmartonCass. Civ. 1ère, June 29, 2007, Putrabali)