Recognition and Enforcement - Additional Facility Arbitration (2006 Rules)

An award made under the ICSID Additional Facility Rules is binding on all parties to the proceeding (Article 52(4) of the Arbitration (Additional Facility) Rules). If a party fails to comply with the award, the successful party can seek to have that award recognized and enforced in domestic courts.

Unlike the ICSID Convention, the Arbitration (Additional Facility) Rules do not contain a recognition and enforcement mechanism. As the ICSID Convention is not applicable (Article 3 of the Additional Facility Rules), the recognition and enforcement of an award made under the Additional Facility is governed by the law of the place of arbitration, including any applicable treaties.

Article 19 of the Arbitration (Additional Facility) Rules requires that arbitration proceedings under those Rules can only be held in States that are parties to the 1958 UN Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the “New York Convention”). This means that awards in Additional Facility cases are subject to the recognition and enforcement regime in the New York Convention.

When the award is rendered, the Secretary-General authenticates and deposits the original award in the archives and transmits certified copies to the parties (Article 53 of the Arbitration (Additional Facility) Rules). A party seeking recognition and enforcement of the award must provide a certified copy of the award to the court (article IV(1)(b) of the New York  Convention). Under Article IV(1)(b) of the New York Convention, a party seeking recognition and enforcement of the award in a court would need to furnish the certified copy of the award to the court. 

ICSID itself has no formal role in the recognition and enforcement. However, if a party informs ICSID of the other party’s non-compliance with an award, it is ICSID’s practice to contact the non-complying party to request information on the steps that party has taken, or will take, to comply with the award.