Arbitral award can be regarded as enforceable only if it is actually executable

Union of India Vs Reliance Industries Ltd & Anr (Delhi High Court)

Delhi High Court held that the award can be regarded as enforceable only if it is actually executable. Accordingly, the Final Partial Award passed by the Arbitral Tribunal is unenforceable award.

Facts- This judgment adjudicates EA (OS) 583/2019, EA (OS) 1012/2020, EA (OS) 1411/2021, IA 3665/2019 and IA 3668/2019, in the present Execution Petition OMP (EFA) (Comm) 1/2019, preferred by the Union of India under Section 481 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (“the 1996 Act”), seeking enforcement of a Final Partial Award passed by the learned Arbitral Tribunal (“the learned AT”) on 12th October 2016 (“the 2016 FPA”).

There is no dispute that the 2016 FPA does not specifically award any amount to the petitioner. The Execution Petition, nonetheless, claims, in para 7, that an amount of US $ 2314040750 is payable to the petitioner by the respondents-Judgment Debtors under the 2016 FPA, and seeks recovery thereof.

Conclusion- Though, superficially, an execution petition could be maintained for enforcement of any award, whether it is executable or not, the award can be regarded as enforceable only if it is actually executable. Actual executability would require, as its sine qua non, determination, by the learned AT, of all the issues on the basis of which the liability of the parties towards each other can be fixed. Absent such determination, the award remains inchoate – as in the present case – and ex facie unenforceable.

Please become a Premium member. If you are already a Premium member, login here to access the full content.