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Section 47 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996: Evidence for Enforcement of a Foreign Award

Section 47 specifies the evidence and documents that a party seeking enforcement of a foreign award must produce before the Court. It also deals with translations of foreign-language awards and agreements, and defines the High Court having jurisdiction for proceedings under this Chapter.

Updated for current law: September 7, 2026.

Key point: Section 47 is the documentary gateway to enforcement of a New York Convention award in India. It should be read together with Section 48, which contains the limited grounds for refusing enforcement, and Section 49, which gives an enforceable foreign award the status of a deemed decree.

Section 47: Evidence

(1) The party applying for the enforcement of a foreign award shall, at the time of the application, produce before the court -

(a) the original award or a copy thereof, duly authenticated in the manner required by the law of the country in which it was made;

(b) the original agreement for arbitration or a duly certified copy thereof; and

(c) such evidence as may be necessary to prove that the award is a foreign award.

(2) If the award or agreement to be produced under sub-section (1) is in a foreign language, the party seeking to enforce the award shall produce a translation into English certified as correct by a diplomatic or consular agent of the country to which that party belongs or certified as correct in such other manner as may be sufficient according to the law in force in India.

Explanation. In this section and in the sections following in this Chapter, "Court" means the High Court having original jurisdiction to decide the questions forming the subject-matter of the arbitral award if the same had been the subject-matter of a suit on its original civil jurisdiction and, in other cases, the High Court having jurisdiction to hear appeals from decrees of courts subordinate to such High Court.

Official statute: India Code - Central Acts.

Documents required to enforce a foreign award

Section 47(1) identifies three categories of material that support an application to enforce a foreign award. The applicant should produce the authenticated original award or a qualifying copy, the original arbitration agreement or a duly certified copy, and any further evidence necessary to establish that the award falls within the statutory definition of a foreign award.

The last requirement links Section 47 directly with Section 44, which defines a New York Convention "foreign award" for Chapter I of Part II.

Translation of a foreign-language award or arbitration agreement

If the award or arbitration agreement is in a foreign language, Section 47(2) requires an English translation. The translation must be certified as correct by a diplomatic or consular agent of the country to which the enforcing party belongs, or certified in another manner that is sufficient under the law in force in India.

Practical point: The translation requirement is not merely stylistic. A party seeking enforcement should ensure that the translation and certification are adequate for the Court to act on the foreign-language material without uncertainty about authenticity or meaning.

Which Court has jurisdiction under Section 47?

The Explanation to Section 47 defines "Court" for this section and the provisions that follow in Chapter I. The relevant forum is the High Court having original jurisdiction over the subject matter if the dispute had been the subject matter of a suit on its original civil jurisdiction. In other cases, it is the High Court having jurisdiction to hear appeals from decrees of subordinate courts.

The present Explanation was substituted by the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2015, with effect from October 23, 2015. The amendment shifted foreign-award enforcement jurisdiction to the High Court level.

Can defects in Section 47 documents be cured?

The Supreme Court has held that the requirement to produce the documents referred to in Section 47 at the time of filing is not to be applied so rigidly that every curable omission automatically defeats the enforcement application. The Court noted that the grounds for refusing enforcement are contained in Section 48, and that a party may be permitted to cure a documentary defect such as non-filing of the arbitration agreement at the initial stage.

This does not make the Section 47 requirements irrelevant. The applicant must ultimately place the necessary material before the Court so that enforceability can be examined under the statutory scheme.

Official Supreme Court judgment: Supreme Court of India judgment dated November 14, 2018.

Section 47 in simple terms

To enforce a foreign award in India, the applicant should place the authenticated award, the arbitration agreement and proof that the award qualifies as a foreign award before the appropriate High Court. If the material is in a foreign language, a proper English translation is required. Curable filing defects do not necessarily end the enforcement proceedings, but the statutory evidence must ultimately be provided.