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Cross-Border Cases
Practice review: winning an award but struggling to enforce it abroad
Winning arbitration is only step one; enforcement where the other side holds assets decides the real outcome.
A typical scenario: a company wins a cross-border arbitration award but is blocked at recognition and enforcement where the counterparty holds assets, turning victory into paper.
Cross-border enforcement depends on local procedure, public-policy exceptions, and asset reachability, so choosing a seat and mechanism without considering enforcement invites trouble.
The lesson: make enforceability central when choosing the dispute mechanism at signing, assessing the real prospect of recognition where the counterparty's assets sit.