This article has been written by Manaswini Vakulabharanam, a student studying BA.LLB from Pendekanti law college, Hyderabad.  The author is a second-year student.

     Arbitration is an alternative form of dispute resolution used in place of court litigation to settlement legal disputes between parties.  An independent third party, usually an experienced legal practitioner is appointed to resolve the dispute.  Both the parties provide their evidence to the third party, usually in the form of written submission with attached documentation as proof.  The third party then makes a decision that is legally binding on both parties, which is the “Arbitration Award”.

What is an Arbitration Award?

     An arbitration award is the award granted by the arbitrator in their decision. This award can be money one party has to pay to the other party. It can also be a non-financial award, such as stopping a certain business practice or adding an employment incentive. In simpler words, arbitral awards refer to the decision of an arbitral tribunal, whether in a domestic or international arbitration.  An arbitral award is equal to a court judgment.  An arbitration award may be given for payment of a sum of money, judgment of any matter to be decided in the arbitration proceedings, injunctive relief, substantive fulfillment of a contract and rectification, setting aside or cancelling an act or other document.

An Arbitral award is of two types:

1. Domestic award:  Domestic award are those awards which are the outcomes of domestic arbitration. It is confined to the territory of India, the parties should have a nexus or birth of Indian origin, the territory essentially comes into play for domestic arbitration purposes. The award given by an arbitral tribunal in India or an award, even if it is given by a foreign state for a dispute in which both parties are of Indian origin and the nationality is also regulated by Indian law, also falls within the scope of domestic arbitration.
2. Foreign award:   Foreign Award is the outcome of Foreign Arbitration. If the parties choose a foreign arbitration institution or agree to an ad hoc arbitration overseas, the award granted after such proceedings shall be referred to as foreign award.

Essentials of arbitral awards:

• Should be in written form.
• Signed by the Arbitrator.
• Shall contain the reason for the passing of Award.
• Date and place at which the arbitration took place.

What is an additional award?

     An additional award is a type of award which is given after the principal award has been delivered. Generally, it is considered as an award that contains all the corrections and interpretations of the provisions provided in the principal award. But to acquire an additional award one has to write to the tribunal requesting to schedule a further hearing.  The reason behind asking for an additional award is human fallibility which may constitute omissions, ambiguities or mistakes. Just like court judgments, arbitral awards are subject to such defects which can be corrected by the arbitrators.  Usually, an award when it is given by the arbitrator or tribunal is a final award which means it is unambiguous and has dealt with all the issues which make it functus officio. Now functus officio means when an award is given by the tribunal it is considered as final award and is subject to limited exceptions for the correction and interpretation of the awards.

Correction and Interpretation

     It is pertinent to note that correction of an award takes place after the award has been given by the arbitral tribunal. So, the correction of an award contains only the requisite corrections of things that have been mistaken or omitted. This happens many times due to typographical errors and human errors. Mistakes in an arbitral award are unacceptable because the parties to the dispute have invested their time and money to ensure a fair and quicker solution to the dispute except for genuine cooperation from the arbitrators and tribunal. A human error can occur if the arbitrator(s) misses mentioning some important provisions in an arbitral award, which may affect the parties to the dispute and cause unfairness to one of them or both of them. A typo-graphical error is the result of human error which can further result in computation errors or clerical errors. Such errors can be corrected by the article provided the parties mutually agree to file for such corrections.

Sometimes, an arbitral award is so complex that it is not easy to interpret the award hence resulting in non-conveyance of the award. It is mandatory for the arbitrator(s) to maintain clarity while giving an award which can help both the parties to the dispute to agree with the meaning conveyed by the arbitral award. If one party agrees and others disagree then it can create problems.

     It is possible to deal with and correct such errors in an arbitral award by the tribunal, the correction and arbitration of awards; additional award is mentioned under section 33 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.

Section 33:   Correction and interpretation of award; additional award.— 

1) Within thirty days from the receipt of the arbitral award, unless another period of time has been agreed upon by the parties— 

      (a) a party, with notice to the other party, may request the arbitral tribunal to correct any computation errors, any clerical or typographical errors or any other errors of a similar nature occurring in the award; 

     (b) if so agreed by the parties, a party, with notice to the other party, may request the arbitral tribunal to give an interpretation of a specific point or part of the award.

2) If the arbitral tribunal considers the request made under sub-section (1) to be justified, it shall make the correction or give the interpretation within thirty days from the receipt of the request and the interpretation shall form part of the arbitral award. 

3) The arbitral tribunal may correct any error of the type referred to in clause (a) of sub-section (1), on its own initiative, within thirty days from the date of the arbitral award. 

4) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, a party with notice to the other party, may request, within thirty days from the receipt of the arbitral award, the arbitral tribunal to make an additional arbitral award as to claims presented in the arbitral proceedings but omitted from the arbitral award. 

5) If the arbitral tribunal considers the request made under sub-section (4) to be justified, it shall make the additional arbitral award within sixty days from the receipt of such request. 

6) The arbitral tribunal may extend, if necessary, the period of time within which it shall make a correction, give an interpretation or make an additional arbitral award under sub-section (2) or sub-section (5). 

7) Section 31 shall apply to a correction or interpretation of the arbitral award or to an additional arbitral award made under this section.

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