"Section 57 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, plays a pivotal role in ensuring the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards governed by the Geneva Convention. By establishing clear conditions for enforcement,

Conditions for enforcement of foreign awards covered by the Geneva Convention Section 57 of Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (the Act) imposes conditions for enforcement of foreign awards. Section 57(1) states that in order that a foreign award may be enforceable under this Chapter, it shall be necessary that- (a) the award has been made in pursuance of a submission to arbitration which is valid under the law applicable thereto; (b) the subject-matter of the award is capable of settlement by arbitration under the law of India; (c) the award has been made by the arbitral tribunal provided for in the submission to arbitration or constituted in the manner agreed upon by the parties and in conformity with the law governing the arbitration procedure; (d) the award has become final in the country in which it has been made, in the sense that it will not be considered as such if it is open to opposition or appeal or if it is proved that any proceedings for the purpose of contesting the validity of the award are pending; (e) the enforcement of the award is not contrary to the public policy or the law of India. Section 57(2) states that even if the conditions laid down in section 57(1) are fulfilled, enforcement of the award shall be refused if the Court is satisfied that- (a) the award has been annulled in the country in which it was made; (b) the party against whom it is sought to use the award was not given notice of the arbitration proceedings in sufficient time to enable him to present his case; or that, being under a legal incapacity, he was not properly represented; (c) the award does not deal with the differences contemplated by or falling within the terms of the submission to arbitration or that it contains decisions on matters beyond the scope of the submission to arbitration. Section 57(3) states that if the party against whom the award has been made proves that under the law governing the arbitration procedure there is a ground, other than the grounds referred to in clauses (a) and (c) of subsection (1) and clauses (b) and (c) of sub-section (2) entitling him to contest the validity of the award, the Court may, if it thinks fit, either refuse enforcement of the award or adjourn the consideration thereof, giving such party a reasonable time within which to have the award annulled by the competent tribunal. Therefore, it can be said that even if all the conditions under section 57(1) of the Act are satisfied, court can refuse the enforcement of the award.