The incidence of default
interest on the enforcement of arbitral awards is a question that frequently
arises in arbitrations involving an Arab country. Firstly, the author studies
the regime of interest in the Shari’a and the positive Laws of the Arab
countries. In this regard, he ranks the Arab laws into three categories: those
that allow the interest, those that prohibit it and those which admit it in
certain matters. Secondly, the author analyses how arbitral awards providing
for interest are enforced in Arab countries that prohibit the interest. He also
noted that even in countries where interest is allowed, some difficulties may
exist due to the constraints of the Shari’a or the rigidity of rules on
interest.