2008 marks the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards of 1958, better known as the 'New York Convention'. The New York Convention is widely regarded as one of the most successful international treaties ever concluded and it provides the legal foundation for the great success of international arbitration today.

In commemoration of this important milestone in the history of international arbitration, the ICC Commission on Arbitration decided to establish a new Task Force on 'National Rules of Procedure for Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Awards pursuant to the New York Convention of 1958'. It is fitting that the ICC launched this project given that the ICC International Court of Arbitration was the initiator and leader of the movement which led to the adoption of the New York Convention in 1958.

The Task Force has prepared this Report as a practical resource for international arbitration practitioners and users-it is designed to be consulted as a first step when considering recognition and enforcement of foreign awards in one or more countries.

This Report addresses recognition and enforcement of foreign awards under the New York Convention. It also addresses, where applicable, any more favourable legal basis for recognition and enforcement of foreign awards that may exist in a country (with the exception of other conventions and treaties, which are not affected in any case by the New York Convention1).

Consistent with the mandate of the Task Force, this Report focuses on national rules of procedure for recognition and enforcement of foreign awards under Articles III and IV of the New York Convention. It does not address the grounds for refusing recognition and enforcement under Article V of the New York Convention or any other aspect of the New York Convention.

Article III of the New York Convention provides:

Each Contracting State shall recognize arbitral awards as binding and enforce them in accordance with the rules of procedure of the territory where the award is relied upon, under the conditions laid down in the following articles. There shall not be imposed substantially more onerous conditions or higher fees or charges on the recognition or enforcement of arbitral awards to which this Convention applies than are imposed on the recognition and enforcement of domestic arbitral awards.

The first sentence of Article III provides that each Contracting State shall recognize and enforce foreign awards in accordance with its own national rules of procedure. However, Article III also contains two limitations on the application of national rules of procedure. First, Article III requires Contracting States to recognize and enforce foreign awards under the conditions set forth in the New York Convention. Second, Article III stipulates that Contracting States shall not impose substantially more onerous conditions or higher fees or charges on the recognition or enforcement of foreign awards than are imposed on the recognition and enforcement of domestic awards. Notwithstanding these limitations, the New York Convention still leaves broad scope for the application of each Contracting State's own national rules of procedure to the recognition and enforcement of foreign awards.

Not surprisingly, there are considerable differences in the national rules of procedure applicable in the 142 current Contracting States under the New York Convention. As a consequence, the procedural requirements for recognition and enforcement of foreign awards are not uniform under the New York Convention, but rather vary significantly between the Contracting States.

These different national rules of procedure can have a major practical impact on a party's ability to obtain recognition and enforcement in a given Contracting State. They are therefore of great importance for international arbitration practitioners and users. Yet, up to the present, there has been no systematic compilation of information specifically devoted to these national rules of procedure.

In order to address this lacuna, the ICC Commission on Arbitration has charged the Task Force with preparing this Report focused on national rules of procedure for recognition and enforcement of foreign awards in the Contracting States to the New York Convention. It is hoped that this Report will be a valuable addition to the body of legal resources now available to international arbitration practitioners and users.

The Task Force has prepared this Report through close collaboration with the ICC Secretariat and the ICC National Committees that exist around the world. These National Committees appointed distinguished arbitration experts to represent their countries on the Task Force and serve as Country Rapporteurs. The Task Force then drafted a Country Questionnaire, which each Country Rapporteur answered in consultation with the other Task Force members from their country. Following an internal review process, the Task Force submitted this Report, including all of the Country Answers, to the ICC National Committees for final comment and approval.

This Report comprises an Overview, 66 individual Country Answers, a Disclaimer and Preliminary Note, an Acknowledgement and several Appendices.

The Country Answers form the main body of this Report and will be of primary interest to arbitration practitioners and users. They appear in full and in alphabetical order. Each Country Answer is structured in the same way and covers the following main subjects:

(A) The Contracting State and the New York Convention;

(B) National sources of law;

(C) Limitation periods (time limits);

(D) National courts and court proceedings;

(E) Evidence required;

(F) Stay of enforcement;

(G) Confidentiality; and

(H) Other issues.

The Overview, which appears in the following section of the Report, highlights certain points of practical interest arising out of the individual Country Answers. It is not intended to be a comprehensive summary of the Country Answers.

Of particular note, the Overview addresses the limitation periods (time limits), if any, applicable to recognition and enforcement of foreign awards in the countries covered by the Report. There is, for example, a two-year limitation period in the People's Republic of China and a three-year limitation period in the USA. The Overview also identifies certain countries covered by the Report where it may be possible to obtain recognition and enforcement of a foreign award notwithstanding that it has been set aside at the place of arbitration. This type of practical information may be critically important for parties considering the enforcement of foreign awards in various different countries.

The Co-Chairs of the Task Force wish to express their sincere thanks to all those who have contributed to the work of the Task Force. In particular, the Co-Chairs are grateful to the Country Rapporteurs who drafted the Country Answers, the members of the Working Group who devoted considerable time and effort to the preparation and review of the Report and the members of the ICC Secretariat, particularly Lara Hammoud, for their invaluable input and logistical support. Lastly, the Co-Chairs wish to thank the Chair of the ICC Commission on Arbitration, Peter Wolrich, who developed the concept for this Task Force and provided invaluable advice and support throughout. A complete list of the members of the Task Force, including the Country Rapporteurs, and the members of the Working Group appears in the Acknowledgement.

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In this regard, Article VII(1) of the New York Convention provides: 'The provisions of the present Convention shall not affect the validity of multilateral or bilateral agreements concerning the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards entered into by the Contracting States nor deprive any interested party of any right he may have to avail himself of an arbitral award in the manner and to the extent allowed by the law or the treaties of the country where such award is sought to be relied upon.'