LegalizeArbitration Act , 1980
PART I Preliminary and General
1 Short title and collective citation.
1.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Arbitration Act, 1980.
(2) The Arbitration Act, 1954, and this Act may be cited together as the Arbitration Acts, 1954 and 1980.
2 Definitions.
2.—In this Act—
“arbitration agreement” means an agreement in writing (including an agreement contained in an exchange of letters or telegrams) to submit to arbitration present or future differences capable of settlement by arbitration;
“the Principal Act” means the Arbitration Act, 1954.
3 Commencement.
3.—Parts III and IV of this Act shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister for Justice may by order appoint.
4 Repeal.
4.—Section 12 of the Principal Act is hereby repealed.
PART II Effect of Arbitration Agreement on Court Proceedings
5 Staying court proceedings where party proves arbitration agreement.
5.—(1) If any party to an arbitration agreement, or any person claiming through or under him, commences any proceedings in any court against any other party to such agreement, or any person claiming through or under him, in respect of any matter agreed to be referred to arbitration, any party to the proceedings may at any time after an appearance has been entered, and before delivering any pleadings or taking any other steps in the proceedings, apply to the court to stay the proceedings, and the court, unless it is satisfied that the arbitration agreement is null and void, inoperative or incapable of being performed or that there is not in fact any dispute between the parties with regard to the matter agreed to be referred, shall make an order staying the proceedings.
(2) Nothing in this section shall be construed as limiting or otherwise affecting the power conferred on the High Court pursuant to section 39 (3) of the Principal Act to refuse to stay any action brought in breach of an arbitration agreement.
PART III Enforcement of New York Convention Awards
6 Interpretation (Part III).
6.—(1) In this Part of this Act—
“award” means an award (other than an award within the meaning of Part IV of this Act) made in pursuance of an arbitration agreement in the territory of a state, other than the State, which is a party to the New York Convention;
“the New York Convention” means the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards done at New York on the 10th day of June, 1958, which Convention is set out in the First Schedule to this Act.
(2) The Minister for Foreign Affairs may by order declare that any state specified in the order is a party to the New York Convention and, while such order is in force, the order shall be evidence that such state is a party to that Convention.
(3) The Minister for Foreign Affairs may by order revoke or amend an order under this section, including an order under this subsection.
7 Effect of awards.
7.—(1) An award shall, subject to the subsequent provisions of this Part, be enforceable either by action or in the same manner as the award of an arbitrator is enforceable by virtue of section 41 of the Principal Act.
(2) An award that would be enforceable under this Part shall be treated as binding for all purposes on the persons between whom it was made, and may accordingly be relied on by any of those persons by way of defence, set off or otherwise in any legal proceedings in the State, and any reference in this Part to the enforcement of an award shall be construed as including a reference to the reliance on such an award.
8 Evidence.
8.—Any person who seeks to enforce an award shall produce—
(a) the duly authenticated original award or a duly certified copy of that award, and
(b) the original arbitration agreement or a duly certified copy of that agreement, and
(c) in any case where the award or the arbitration agreement is in a language other than one of the official languages of the State, a translation of the award or the agreement, as the case may be, certified by an official or sworn translator or by a diplomatic or consular agent.
9 Refusal of enforcement.
9.—(1) Enforcement of an award shall not be refused otherwise than pursuant to the subsequent provisions of this section.
(2) Enforcement of an award may be refused if the person against whom it is invoked proves that—
(a) a party to the arbitration agreement was (under the law applicable to him) under some incapacity, or
(b) the arbitration agreement was not valid under the law of the country to which the parties subjected it or, failing any indication thereon, under the law of the country where the award was made, or
(c) he was not given proper notice of the appointment of the arbitrator or of the arbitration proceedings or was otherwise unable to present his case, or
(d) subject to subsection (4) of this section, the award deals with a difference not contemplated by or not falling within the terms of the submission to arbitration or contains decisions on matters beyond the scope of the submission to arbitration, or
(e) the composition of the arbitral authority or the arbitral procedure was not in accordance with the agreement of the parties or, failing such agreement, with the law of the country where the arbitration took place, or
(f) the award has not yet become binding on the parties or has been set aside or suspended by a competent authority of the country in which, or under the law of which, the award was made.
(3) Enforcement of an award may also be refused if the award is in respect of a matter which is not capable of settlement by arbitration under the law of the State, or if it would be contrary to public policy to enforce the award.
(4) An award which contains decisions on matters not submitted to arbitration may be enforced to the extent that it contains decisions on matters submitted to arbitration which can be separated from any decisions on matters not so submitted.
(5) In any case where an application for the setting aside or suspension of an award has been made to such a competent authority as is mentioned in subsection (2) (f) of this section, a court before which enforcement of the award is sought may, if it thinks fit, adjourn the proceedings and may, on the application of the party seeking to enforce the award, order the other party to give such security as the court may think fit.
10 Non-application of Part V of Principal Act.
10.—In any case where an award is also a foreign award within the meaning of Part V of the Principal Act, that Part shall not apply to such award.
11 Saving for other rights.
11.—Nothing in this Part shall prejudice the right of any person to enforce or to rely on an award otherwise than under this Part or under Part V of the Principal Act.
PART IV Enforcement of Washington Convention Awards
12 Interpretation (Part IV).
12.—In this Part—
“award” means an award rendered pursuant to the Washington Convention and includes any decision made—
(a) pursuant to Article 49 (2) of that Convention in relation to any question which the Tribunal referred to in that Article had omitted to decide in the award, or in relation to the rectification of any clerical, arithmetical or similar error in the award,
(b) pursuant to Articles 50, 51 and 52 of that Convention, interpreting, revising or annulling the award, and
(c) pursuant to Article 61 (2) of that Convention in relation to costs;
“the Washington Convention” means the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States opened for signature in Washington on the 18th day of March, 1965, which Convention is set out in the Second Schedule to this Act.
13 Approval of acceptance.
13.—Acceptance by the State of the Washington Convention is hereby approved.
14 Government contribution under Washington Convention and expenses.
14.—(1) The Minister for Finance may discharge any obligations of the Government arising under Article 17 of the Washington Convention (which obliges the Contracting States to meet any deficit of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes established under that Convention).
(2) Any sums required for the purposes of subsection (1) of this section and any administrative expenses incurred by the Minister for Finance as a result of acceptance by the State of the Washington Convention shall be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.
15 Application of Principal Act and other enactments.
15.—(1) The Minister for Justice may by order direct that any of the provisions contained in—
(a) sections 19, 20, 21 and 22 of the Principal Act (which relate to attendance of witnesses, security for costs, discovery of documents, etc.), and
(b) the Foreign Tribunals Evidence Act, 1856 (which relates to taking of evidence for the purpose of proceedings before a foreign tribunal),
shall apply to such proceedings pursuant to the Washington Convention as are specified in the order, and the order may contain such modifications or exceptions as may appear to the Minister for Justice to be expedient for the purposes of the order.
(2) Subject to subsection (1) of this section, the Principal Act shall not apply to proceedings pursuant to the Washington Convention.
(3) The Minister for Justice may by order revoke or amend an order under this section, including an order under this subsection.
16 Enforcement of pecuniary obligations imposed by award.
16.—(1) The pecuniary obligations imposed by an award shall, by leave of the High Court, be enforceable in the same manner as a judgment or order of the High Court to the same effect and, where leave is so given, judgment may be entered for the amount due or, as the case may be, the balance outstanding under the award.
(2) Any person who applies to the High Court pursuant to subsection (1) of this section for leave to enforce the pecuniary obligations imposed by an award shall lodge with his application a copy of the award certified in accordance with Article 54 (2) of the Washington Convention.
17 Power of High Court to stay enforcement.
17.—Where an application is made to the High Court pursuant to section 16 of this Act, the High Court shall, in any case where enforcement of an award has been stayed, whether provisionally or otherwise, in accordance with Article 50, Article 51 or Article 52 of the Washington Convention, stay enforcement of the pecuniary obligations imposed by the award and may, in any case where an application has been made in accordance with any of those Articles which, if granted, might result in a stay on the enforcement of the award, stay enforcement of the pecuniary obligations imposed by the award.
FIRST SCHEDULE Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards
Article I
This Convention shall apply to the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards made in the territory of a State other than the State where the recognition and enforcement of such awards are sought, and arising out of differences between persons, whether physical or legal. It shall also apply to arbitral awards not considered as domestic awards in the State where their recognition and enforcement are sought.
The term “arbitral awards” shall include not only awards made by arbitrators appointed for each case but also those made by permanent arbitral bodies to which the parties have submitted.
When signing, ratifying or acceding to this Convention, or notifying extension under article X hereof, any State may on the basis of reciprocity declare that it will apply the Convention to the recognition and enforcement of awards made only in the territory of another Contracting State. It may also declare that it will apply the Convention only to differences arising out of legal relationships, whether contractual or not, which are considered as commercial under the national law of the State making such declaration.
Article II
Each Contracting State shall recognise an agreement in writing under which the parties undertake to submit to arbitration all or any differences which have arisen or which may arise between them in respect of a defined legal relationship, whether contractual or not, concerning a subject matter capable of settlement by arbitration.
The term “agreement in writing” shall include an arbitral clause in a contract or an arbitration agreement, signed by the parties or contained in an exchange of letters or telegrams.
The court of a Contracting State, when seized of an action in a matter in respect of which the parties have made an agreement within the meaning of this article, shall, at the request of one of the parties, refer the parties to arbitration, unless it finds that the said agreement is null and void, inoperative or incapable of being performed.
Article III
Each Contracting State shall recognise 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 or enforcement of domestic arbitral awards.
Article IV
To obtain the recognition and enforcement mentioned in the preceding article, the party applying for recognition and enforcement shall, at the time of the application, supply:
(a) The duly authenticated original award or a duly certified copy thereof;
(b) The original agreement referred to in article II or a duly certified copy thereof.
If the said award or agreement is not made in an official language of the country in which the award is relied upon, the party applying for recognition and enforcement of the award shall produce a translation of these documents into such language. The translation shall be certified by an official or sworn translator or by a diplomatic or consular agent.
Article V
Recognition and enforcement of the award may be refused, at the request of the party against whom it is invoked, only if that party furnishes to the competent authority where the recognition and enforcement is sought, proof that:
(a) The parties to the agreement referred to in article II were, under the law applicable to them, under some incapacity, or the said agreement is not valid under the law to which the parties have subjected it or, failing any indication thereon, under the law of the country where the award was made; or
(b) The party against whom the award is invoked was not given proper notice of the appointment of the arbitrator or of the arbitration proceedings or was otherwise unable to present his case; or
(c) The award deals with a difference not contemplated by or not falling within the terms of the submission to arbitration, or it contains decisions on matters beyond the scope of the submission to arbitration, provided that, if the decisions on matters submitted to arbitration can be separated from those not so submitted, that part of the award which contains decisions on matters submitted to arbitration may be recognised and enforced; or
(d) The composition of the arbitral authority or the arbitral procedure was not in accordance with the agreement of the parties, or, failing such agreement, was not in accordance with the law of the country where the arbitration took place; or
(e) The award has not yet become binding on the parties, or has been set aside or suspended by a competent authority of the country in which, or under the law of which, that award was made.
Recognition and enforcement of an arbitral award may also be refused if the competent authority in the country where recognition and enforcement is sought finds that:
(a) The subject matter of the difference is not capable of settlement by arbitration under the law of that country; or
(b) The recognition or enforcement of the award would be contrary to the public policy of that country.
Article VI
If an application for the setting aside or suspension of the award has been made to a competent authority referred to in article V (1) (e), the authority before which the award is sought to be relied upon may, if it considers it proper, adjourn the decision on the enforcement of the award and may also, on the application of the party claiming enforcement of the award, order the other party to give suitable security.
Article VII
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.
The Geneva Protocol on Arbitration Clauses of 1923 and the Geneva Convention on the Execution of Foreign Arbitral Awards of 1927 shall cease to have effect between Contracting States on their becoming bound and to the extent that they become bound, by this Convention.
Article VIII
This Convention shall be open until 31 December 1958 for signature on behalf of any Member of the United Nations and also on behalf of any other State which is or hereafter becomes a member of any specialised agency of the United Nations, or which is or hereafter becomes a party to the Statute of the International Court of Justice, or any other State to which an invitation has been addressed by the General Assembly of the United Nations.
This document does not substitute the official text published in the Irish Statute Book. We accept no responsibility for any inaccuracies arising from the transcription of the original into this format.