Arbitral Award

An arbitral award is the final, binding decision issued by an arbitral tribunal, resolving the dispute the parties agreed to arbitrate. Under the UAE Federal Arbitration Law (Federal Law No. 6 of 2018), an award must meet formal requirements — including the arbitrators' signatures and reasons — and, once issued, it has the force of a judgment between the parties. To execute it against assets, the winning party applies to the competent court for ratification and enforcement; the losing party can seek annulment only on limited grounds such as an invalid arbitration agreement, due process violations, or public policy conflict — not because the tribunal got the merits wrong. Foreign awards are enforceable in the UAE under the New York Convention. It matters because the award is where arbitration's promise is tested: speed and confidentiality mean little if the award cannot survive challenge and reach the debtor's assets. You meet it at the end of construction, commercial and joint-venture arbitrations.