Enforcing a Foreign Arbitral Award in Türkiye, Iran and Ethiopia: A Practical Guide

The award is only half the job

An arbitral award is a decision on paper. It becomes money only when a court where the debtor holds assets recognises it and allows enforcement. In the Türkiye–Iran–Ethiopia corridor, that route runs through the 1958 New York Convention and national procedure.

What the New York Convention solves

All three countries are parties: Türkiye since 1992, Iran since 2002 and Ethiopia since 2020. Courts in a contracting state must recognise foreign awards as binding and may refuse recognition and enforcement only on the limited grounds listed in Article V. The court does not rehear the dispute, and it may not impose substantially more onerous conditions on foreign awards than on domestic ones (Article III).

What it does not solve: it does not find the debtor's assets, set a timetable for the court or make every court read "public policy" the same way; procedure, fees and timing stay national. Nor does an enforcement order move money by itself: payment routes need their own compliance checks.

The reservations that narrow the scope

All three states made the same two declarations under Article I(3):

• Reciprocity: the Convention applies only to awards made in the territory of another contracting state.
• Commercial: it applies only to differences arising out of legal relationships, contractual or not, that are considered commercial under national law.

Ethiopia also made a reservation on retroactive application. If the award or the arbitration agreement pre-dates 22 November 2020, when the Convention entered into force for Ethiopia, check this point first.

Where to apply

Türkiye. Procedure is governed by Law No. 5718 on International Private and Procedural Law, whose Article 1(2) preserves treaties such as the Convention. The petition goes to the court of first instance (asliye mahkemesi) of the place the parties agreed in writing; failing that, the court of the debtor's domicile in Türkiye, then its residence, then the location of its assets (Article 60).

Iran. Foreign awards are enforced under the Convention through the Iranian courts; reported decisions show Tehran's general civil courts granting recognition and enforcement on that basis. The 1997 Law on International Commercial Arbitration governs international commercial arbitration under Iranian law; awards made under it are set aside or enforced by the public court in the provincial capital of the seat (Articles 6, 33 and 35).

Ethiopia. Under Proclamation No. 1237/2021, a foreign award that falls under a treaty ratified by Ethiopia is recognised and enforced in accordance with that treaty (Article 53(1)), and the application goes to the Federal High Court (Article 53(3)).

Documents you will usually need

Article IV of the Convention asks for:

• the duly authenticated original award, or a duly certified copy;
• the original arbitration agreement, or a duly certified copy;
• a translation of both into the court's language, certified by an official or sworn translator or by a diplomatic or consular agent.

National rules add detail. In Türkiye, Article 61 of Law No. 5718 requires the award to be final and enforceable or binding, with a copy of each document for every opposing party. In Ethiopia, Article 51 of the Proclamation requires authentication by the relevant authority and, for an award in another language, translation into the court's working language.

Why courts refuse

Under Article V(1), the party resisting enforcement must prove one of these grounds:

• a party lacked capacity, or the arbitration agreement is invalid;
• it was not given proper notice or could not present its case;
• the award goes beyond the scope of the submission to arbitration;
• the tribunal or the procedure did not follow the parties' agreement or the law of the seat;
• the award is not yet binding, or has been set aside or suspended at the seat.

Under Article V(2), the court may also refuse on its own motion if the subject matter is not arbitrable under its law or enforcement would be contrary to its public policy. Public policy is where national differences show most. In one reported decision, a Tehran civil court enforced a French award but refused the part ordering the Iranian party to pay interest, holding it contrary to Iranian public policy.

Drafting the clause with enforcement in mind

Most enforcement problems are set up on the day the contract is signed.

• Seat. Choose a seat in a Convention state. The seat decides which court can set the award aside: for an arbitration seated in Türkiye under Law No. 4686, that is an annulment action before the regional court of appeal (bölge adliye mahkemesi).
• Institution. Name the institution and its rules precisely (ICC, ISTAC, TRAC or AACCSA AI, for example), or set out a workable ad hoc procedure.
• Language. Fix the language of the proceedings, and budget early for certified translation into the language of the enforcing court.
• Governing law. State the law governing the contract and, separately, the law governing the arbitration agreement.
• State counterparties. In Iran, Article 139 of the Constitution makes referring claims relating to public and state property to arbitration subject to approval by the Council of Ministers and, in some cases, Parliament. Take advice before signing.

Before you file: a checklist

• In which country are the debtor's assets?
• Was the award made in another contracting state, and is the dispute commercial?
• For Ethiopia: when were the arbitration agreement and the award made?
• Original or certified copies of the award and the agreement, authenticated as required
• Certified translations into the court's language
• Evidence that the award is final or binding at the seat

Sources

• UNCITRAL: New York Convention, text
• UNCITRAL: status of the Convention, declarations and reservations
• Türkiye: Law No. 5718 on International Private and Procedural Law
• Türkiye: International Arbitration Law No. 4686
• Iran: Law on International Commercial Arbitration, 1997 (WIPO Lex)
• Iran: Tehran civil court decision of 16 January 2019 (New York Convention Guide)
• Iran: Article 139 of the Constitution and arbitration (Kluwer Arbitration Blog)
• Ethiopia: Arbitration and Conciliation Working Procedure Proclamation No. 1237/2021