In 1958, when the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards was concluded, international commercial arbitration as we know it today was in its relative infancy. Fifty years on, arbitration has become the pre-eminent form of international dispute resolution, at least in relation to international trade and investment.
This pre-eminence is due to many factors, chief among them globalisation. The New York Convention provides the foundation for modern international arbitration and provides for the recognition and enforcement of arbitration agreements and awards in more than 140 jurisdictions, with enforcement only being denied for ‘due process’ and public policy reasons.
