NIGERIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Adeyinka Aderemi, Chinasa Unaegbunam, Omono Blessing Omaghomi and Ibukun Enigbokan, Streamsowers & Köhn
in Nigeria regardless of the country in which it was made. The party seeking to enforce the award shall apply to the court by a motion on notice supported by an affidavit, the duly authenticated original award or a duly certified true copy thereof; the original arbitration agreement or a duly author - ised true copy thereof; and where the award or arbitration agreement is not made in the English language, a duly authorised translation thereof into the English language. • Enforcement Under the New York (Enforcement and Recognition of Arbitral Awards) Convention 1958, which is ratified in Nigeria – the AMA states that awards from an international arbitration are enforceable in Nigeria under the New York conven - tion, provided the country it originated from will accord Nigeria similar recognition. • Enforcement of Awards Made by the ICSID – such awards are enforceable by registering them at the Supreme Court under Section 1 (1) of the ICSID Act. 4.5 Costs and Time Taken to Enforce Arbitral Awards There are no specific/definite costs outlined or expect - ed for the enforcement of an arbitral award. How - ever, processing the enforcement of arbitral awards involves the payment of administrative fees, such as filing fees paid to the court and professional fees paid to counsel (which vary) for representation in court. The law provides for a limitation period of six years within which an application for the enforcement of an arbitral award must be brought. There is no ambigu - ity in the timeframe within which an action to enforce an arbitral award must be brought. A proceeding to enforce an arbitral award typically lasts between 12 and 18 months. However, it is usual for unsuccessful parties to appeal the decision; the appeal process can take an indeterminable period, typically another two or three years. 4.6 Challenging Enforcement of Arbitral Awards An arbitral award is regarded as a final judgment and, as such, courts are enjoined to, as much as possible, uphold or affirm and enforce arbitral awards when approached. However, the law recognises instances
where the enforcement of an arbitral award may be challenged. Section 58 (1) of the AMA provides limited grounds for the challenge of the enforcement of an arbitral award, as follows. • A party to the arbitration is under a legal incapacity – the AMA provides that a person is under a legal incapacity if they are under the age of 18, or are of unsound mind. If it can be proven that a party was under any of these conditions at the time of enter - ing into the arbitration agreement, then the award may be challenged on those grounds. • Invalidity of the arbitration agreement – a party may challenge the enforcement of an arbitral award if the party furnishes proof that the arbitration agree - ment is not valid under the law to which the parties have indicated it should be applied, or that the arbitration agreement is not valid under the law of the country where the award was made. • Lack of service or breach of fair hearing – a party may seek to challenge the enforcement of an award on the ground that proper notice of the appointment of an arbitrator or of an arbitral proceeding was not given, or that the party was otherwise not able to present its case. • Jurisdictional Grounds – A party may challenge the enforcement of an arbitral award on the ground that the arbitrator had no jurisdiction as there was no valid and binding arbitration agreement or, if there was jurisdiction, the arbitrator exceeded that jurisdiction in the manner in which the decision was rendered. However, if the decision on the point not submitted to the jurisdiction of the arbitrator can be separated from the parts of the award submit - ted to the arbitrator, only the part of the award that contains decisions on the point not submitted may be set aside. • Context of the award – a party can also argue that the award was not made in accordance with the agreed rules of the arbitration, or that the composi - tion of the arbitral tribunal was not in accordance with the agreement of the parties. • The matter of the dispute is not capable of set - tlement by arbitration under the laws of Nigeria – awards that determine matters that are not arbitra- ble under Nigerian law are not enforceable. Matters that are beyond the scope of arbitration in Nigeria include criminal matters, taxation matters, disputes
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