Disputes that are referred to arbitration result in an arbitral award. Awards are final and binding on the parties. Unlike a court judgment, an award cannot be appealed to a higher court, and most arbitral laws sharply restrict the reasons for which an award may be annulled by the court at the place of arbitration.

The international enforceability of arbitral awards is particularly important since most often the place the award has been issued will not be where the succumbing party will have its assets. Thus the award will have to be enforced in that party’s home jurisdiction if it does not execute the arbitrator’s decision.

Arbitral awards are internationally recognized and enforced under the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards of 1958, which is one of the world’s most successful treaties, having been ratified or adhered to by almost 150 states. The New York Convention severely limits the reasons for which an enforcement court may refuse to enforce a foreign arbitral award.

With solid experience in Swiss debt enforcement law, Landolt & Koch can efficiently assist our clients in enforcing arbitral awards against recalcitrant award debtors who have assets in Geneva or elsewhere in Switzerland. Our extensive international network of legal contacts also allows us to effectively coordinate enforcement efforts in multiple jurisdictions.