8 March, 2022

Arbitration and public order in the action for annulment of arbitral awards in Spain: Review of the Constitutional Court ruling of 15 february 2021

The recent ruling of the Constitutional Court of 15 February 2021 has declared that the review of arbitration awards by the High Courts of Justice must be interpreted restrictively, not allowing to review the merits of the case. Furthermore, the judgment holds that the arbitrator's duty to state reasons is not comparable to that required of judicial bodies. This duty is considered to be fulfilled if the reasoning of the award allows to know the criteria on which the decision is based. Thus, the arbitrators' duty to state reasons is more limited in scope than that required to courts.