JAPAN Law and Practice Contributed by: Takefumi Sato, Aoi Inoue, Kosuke Tsunashima and Ryohei Ikeda, Anderson Mori & Tomotsune
4.2 Variations in Approach to Enforcement of Arbitral Awards Japanese law does not distinguish between different types of arbitral awards, and thus the provisions relat - ing to enforcement are applicable regardless of the nature of the award. Similar to a lawsuit, upon the petition of a party, an arbitral tribunal may order interim measures that it considers necessary in respect of the subject mat - ters of the dispute in order to ensure the effectiveness of the arbitral award. The recent amendments to the Arbitration Act have specified the different types of interim measures that are available and have enabled enforcement of the interim measures. 4.3 Categories of Arbitral Awards Not Enforced Provisions relating to the enforcement of arbitral awards are applicable regardless of the nature of the award, as Japanese law does not distinguish between different categories of arbitral awards (see 4.2 Variations in Approach to Enforcement of Arbitral Awards ). A party seeking enforcement of an arbitral award should apply to a court for an enforcement decision. The grounds for refusing to recognise or enforce arbi - tral awards are essentially the same as those of Arti - cle 36 (1) of the Model Law or Article V of the New York Convention (see 4.1 Legal Issues Concerning Enforcement of Arbitral Awards ). 4.4 Process of Enforcing Arbitral Awards A party must generally file a petition with the court for an enforcement decision to enforce an award that has been issued by an arbitral tribunal but has not been performed voluntarily. When the enforcement deci - sion becomes final and irrevocable, it can be used for compulsory enforcement with the assistance of a judicial authority.
Under the Arbitration Act, the party seeking the enforcement decision is required to submit a duly cer - tified copy of the arbitral award, including a Japanese translation if the award is written in a foreign language. In this regard, the recent amendments to the Arbitra - tion Act ease the translation requirement for an arbi - tral award written in non-Japanese languages. The amended Arbitration Act stipulates that, in procedures for the enforcement of an arbitral award, if the court finds it appropriate, the court may omit the translation requirement after hearing the opinions of the parties. The procedure for enforcement decisions has been simplified. Although the court must give both parties an opportunity to be heard, a formal oral hearing is no longer required. The enforcement decision is subject to appeal, which must be filed within two weeks of the date on which the order is served on the appellant. 4.5 Costs and Time Taken to Enforce Arbitral Awards The time and total costs required for enforcing arbitral awards differ largely depending on the circumstances of each case. An application for an enforcement decision requires filing a fee of JPY4,000 and postal costs. According to statistics from the Tokyo District Court, about half of all petitions for an enforcement decision between 2004 and 2016 were completed within six months, and 75% were completed within one year at the court of first instance. 4.6 Challenging Enforcement of Arbitral Awards The grounds for refusing to recognise or enforce domestic and foreign awards are essentially the same as those of Article 36 (1) of the Model Law or Article V of the New York Convention (see 4.1 Legal Issues Concerning Enforcement of Arbitral Awards ).
276 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook