The New York Convention : an autopsy of its structure and modus operandi

The purpose of the New York Convention is to facilitate the enforcement of arbitral awards. It introduces different regimes, i.e. the regime provided by the New York Convention itself, and the two regimes referred to by Article VII. 1 of the New York Convention. Little attention has so far been given to those different regimes and, especially, to the possibility of an interaction between those regimes and whether or not such should be authorized. The aim of this contribution is to highlight that the New York Convention is structured and worded precisely to avoid interferences between those different regimes which each operate independently, even if complemented by provisions of domestic law. It is the enforcing party's privilege to choose between the different regimes. However, in order to respect the rights of defence of the party against whom the award is enforced, this choice should be express, in toto, final and binding for the judge. Failure to expressly opt for a regime leads to the application of the New York Convention regime. Such an approach offers not only the advantage of clarity and simplicity as far as the applicable rules are concerned, but also enhances the equality between foreign and domestic awards, and puts an end to the nineteenth century era of bilateral treaties

The adoption of the UNCITRAL model law encourages arbitration in Belgium

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