The machinery for enforcement of domestic arbitral awards in Nigeria – Prospects for stay of execution of non-monetary awards

Abstract

The decision of an arbitral tribunal is known as “award”. There are domestic,  international and foreign awards. An award is domestic when it is bereft of any  international or foreign content. It is made within the local jurisdiction of a state and  neither the parties nor the subject matter to which it relates has any international  characteristic. A domestic award may or may not direct the payment of money. Either  way, the Nigerian jurisprudence has fashioned out the mechanisms for enforcement of  such awards. A party to an arbitral process may be dissatisfied with an award arising  therefrom and may, therefore, not evince the desire to implement it. Such a party may  intend to stall the execution of the award against him. This article investigates the  possibilities of stay of execution of domestic non-monetary awards in Nigeria, using the dynamics of reference to case law and statute.