Recognition and Enforcement of Blockchain Arbitral Award Under New York Convention of 1958: The Need for New Interpretation to Motivate Blockchain Investments.

1 Lafi Daradkeh

Private Law - Faculty of Law - Yarmouk University - Jordan

Abstract

This article presents new interpretation for legal rules provided to the recognition and enforcement of blockchain arbitral award. It studies the reasons why the courts in blockchain investments are ready to recognise and enforce blockchain awards. They wish to protect the legitimate expectations of the parties to the blockchain investment contract, or to respect the parties’ autonomy in blockchain investment contracts. The parties would suffer injustice if their reasonable reliance on the applicability of the law which has the closest connection to the matters in issue were to be rejected. If recognition and enforcement of blockchain award is refused by the courts, it would undermine the very principle of the parties’ autonomy and frustrate their legitimate expectations. As such, the investors would refrain form making investment in blockchain industries. The study discusses how attempt can be made by the blockchain commercial community to influence international and national legislatures to introduce legal means to enforce blockchain award. There is a strong connection between blockchain investments and recognition and enforcement of blockchain award. blockchain investments is considered meaningless if the resulting blockchain arbitral award is not recognisable and enforceable. Recognition and enforcement of blockchain award thus provide a new measurement by which blockchain investments can be judged. blockchain investment is successful not only by conducting such investments, but also by the enforcement or non-enforcement of blockchain award. If blockchain award fails to be enforced, this reflects to some extent the weakness of blockchain investments. The argument of this study also shows the extent to which blockchain award made by blockchain technology should influence national courts to adopt new interpretation to enforce blockchain arbitral award under New York convention of 1958.To recognise and enforce blockchain arbitral award, it is important to fix the rendering place and the forum place. New York Convention of 1958 cannot be applied without fixing whether the rendering place and the forum place are party to the said convention. Blockchain investments can be supported under New York convention by having new interpretation of article 1(1) of the convention. In this regard, it can be said that only enforceable blockchain arbitral awards made in the territory of A state of which law is applicable law, irrespective of the place where it was made. Or a blockchain award which is not considered to be a domestic award in the State where recognition and enforcement are sought. Other point which supports blockchain investments is the territorial effect of legal rules provided to the recognition and enforcement, if blockchain award is not enforced in one State, it does not mean that this award is also not enforceable in other States. As a result, a new interpretation is needed for New York convention of 1958 and other international conventions as well as domestic laws to cover the development of investments in its blockchain form. In order to place the new interpretation of recognition and enforcement of blockchain award in their proper contexts to stimulate blockchain investments. This article deals with the definition and enforceability of blockchain arbitral award, analysing of where it is made and where its recognition and enforcement are sought, the territorial effect of the laws applicable to recognition and enforcement of blockchain awards, and what blockchain arbitral award is concerned on recognition and enforcement regarding blockchain investments.

Keywords

Recognition and enforcement, blockchain award, NewYork Convention,blockchain investments.