Arbitration in Libya Series: What Parties Need to Know

The "Need-to-Knows" of Enforcing a Foreign Arbitral Award

This short guide applies to parties who have received their award from an arbitral tribunal outside of Libya, and now looking to enforce their award in Libya. Known as applicants by the Civil and Commercial Proceedings Law, these parties should be aware of the following key elements:

1. All applicants will need to obtain an enforcement order from a court of first instance.
2. For the order to be issued, the court will require applicants to produce the conditions for enforcement of a Libyan award in the country where that award was issued. The principle of reciprocity is a reservation similarly enshrined by the New York Convention, which permits Contracting States to “reserve” their right to withhold their recognition and enforcement of any awards issued in states which have not acceded to the standards upheld by the Convention. ?The objective of this principle is to oblige national courts to ensure foreign arbitral awards are recognized and enforced in their jurisdiction in the same way as domestic awards, reinforcing the mutual recognition that different judicial systems have for each other. The aim of mutual recognition, in turn is to remove unnecessary administrative and often bureaucratic obstacles to the efficient resolution of disputes.
3. The court will order the enforcement of the foreign arbitral award without reference to the merits of the award (the substance of the award), so long as the court is satisfied of the following conditions, in turn:

• That the award was issued by an arbitral tribunal with jurisdiction under the law of the state where (a) the award was issued (b) the award is final; (c) the award can be enforced in that state.
• The claimant and the respondent were notified to appear and were validly represented before the arbitral tribunal.
• The award does not conflict with Libyan rules of public order and policy.
• The award does not conflict with any prior judgements or orders issued by the Libyan courts.
• Libyan judgements are enforceable in the state in which the arbitral award was issued (an example of the reciprocity principle in action).

4. Once the court is satisfied that the above conditions are fulfilled, the court will issue an order enforcing the foreign arbitral award, the “enforcement” or “execution order” which actively enables the execution of the award in Libya.

There is no doubt that the most successful jurisdictions in dispute resolution are those that actively support the arbitral process. However, more specific action plans targeted towards improving the efficiency of the enforcement of foreign arbitral award procedures is required.?