Enforcement of arbitral awards and research for assets: is bankruptcy an optimal solution?

Abstract

The issuance of the arbitral awards is not the end of the arbitration process. The enforcement of the award is a very important stage. In this context, the ultimate goal is to find the defendant assets so that the enforcement could be beneficial for the applicant. Yet, too many obstacles could appear and refrain the enforcement on the defendant assets. This could include the issue of the confidentiality of bank accounts, real estate complexity or even the liquidation of the defendant assets. The latter was the subject matter of the first bankruptcy decision to be issued by a Qatari court where the enforcement of an ICC-Paris seated arbitration award was sought in a dispute between two Qatari construction companies.