In addition to an application for setting aside, losing parties in some jurisdictions have been trying to challenge an arbitral award by means of an individual constitutional complaint. In many European jurisdictions, such complaints heard by the constitutional court are remedies of last-resort against decisions of public authorities. However, it is highly questionable that this remedy should be available against rulings of arbitral awards. Nonetheless, constitutional courts in some Central European jurisdictions have deemed such complaints admissible and have even annulled arbitral awards, thereby opening intriguing questions on the nature of arbitration and potentially upsetting the institutional setting of judicial scrutiny over arbitral awards and the principle of finality.
Journal of International Arbitration