The Human Right to Enforcement: A Critical Analysis of Strasbourg’s Case-Law on Unenforced Arbitral Awards

The European Court of Human Rights has repeatedly held that the refusal of a Member State court to recognize and enforce an arbitral award may violate the award-holder’s property rights under Article 1 of Protocol 1 to the European Convention on Human Rights. This contribution discusses the Court's growing case-law on unenforced awards. It argues that the framework developed by the Court in this context should be better aligned with the international standards governing the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards, and that the Court’s review should focus on whether a Member State court’s decision to annul an award or refuse its enforcement complied with such standards. Under Article 1 of Protocol 1, the Court might make this assessment without the deference that it normally extends to domestic courts when evaluating their interpretation and application of domestic or international law.