Nigeria acceded to the New York Convention on March 17, 1970, adopting both the commercial and reciprocal reservations. Ever since, the Convention has influenced the development of arbitration as a mechanism for resolving international commercial disputes in Nigeria, with the implementation of the Convention by the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1988. Specifically, Sections 51 and 52 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act are in pari materia with Articles IV and V of the New York Convention on the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards and the grounds for the refusal of recognition and enforcement of awards. This article discusses how Nigerian courts have interpreted Article V of the New York Convention and Section 52 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, in relation to the issues of validity, capacity, procedural due process, arbitrability and public policy, when confronted with applications to deny recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards. The article concludes that although there is generally a “pro-enforcement bias,” by Nigerian courts, in line with global practice, nonetheless, recognition and enforcement may be refused in circumstances relating to the issues which arise under Article V of the New York Convention.
Journal of International Arbitration