When freely agreeing to settle disputes through arbitration, parties are accepting that the award rendered by the arbitrators is final and binding and therefore has to be voluntarily enforced. In many cases, the applicable Rules establish that the parties will not lodge any appeal whatsoever even when governing law so permits.
It can be accepted, however, that such an appeal could be justified if foreseen in the applicable law and limited to a restricted number of grounds. However, unfounded appeals made in bad faith with the sole intention of wasting time or for bargaining purposes are totally unacceptable, as they are a clear breach of the “pacta sunt servanda” principle.
The author suggests a number of actions to stop such abuses based on the different regulations contained in Spanish laws, including penalties to be imposed by judges to “bad faith appellants.”
In support of such suggestions, reference is made to clear examples of the line of action followed by the French Courts, as well as in some Swiss and ICSID cases.
Iurgium [previously Spain Arbitration Review]