Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2020515 Public Policy vis-a-vis Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards: Some Reflections on the Indian Approach Harisankar K S * The application of public policy defence for refusing the enforcement of international arbitral awards in India remains a major reason for vexation to foreign traders and investors. But, the real question is whether this concern is just a hypothetical discourse or whether it has become an actual threat. The paper attempts to address this question by reviewing a number of cases that deal with the handling of public policy exceptions by Indian courts. It aims to clarify the approach taken by Indian judiciary with respect to the scope and content of public policy as a challenge to enforcement of arbitral awards. An evaluation of the extent to which the so called Indian approach follows the international norms is also attempted. I. Introduction The concept of a final and binding award capable of enforcement is of paramount importance in International Commercial Arbitration 1 (hereinafter ICA). Any obstacle in enforcing international arbitral awards poses a fundamental threat to business enterprises across the world. So, it is widely acknowledged that, a jurisdiction’s credibility as a favourable destination for ICA primarily rests on its effective award enforcement regime. The New York Convention 2 (hereinafter NYC) provides for certain exceptions on the basis of which enforcement of a foreign award may be denied. This paper proposes to critically analyse the approach of the Indian judiciary in the interpretation of ‘public policy’ as an exception to enforcement of foreign awards. In the * Assistant Professor of Law, National Law University, Jodhpur, INDIA. 1 Alex Baykitch & Lorraine Hui, Celebrating 50 years of the New York convention, 31(1) UNSW Law Journal 371, 364-378 (2008). 2 Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, New York, 10 June 1958, (1959) 330 UNTS 38, No. 4378. http://www.uncitral.org/uncitral/uncitral_texts/arbitration/NYConvention.html .