New York Convention 2026 — Contracting States, Enforcement & Procedure
The Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards — the New York Convention — has 172 contracting states as of 2026, covering virtually every major trading economy. This guide explains how cross-border enforcement actually works in practice.
Quick facts
- Adopted
- 10 June 1958, New York
- Entered into force
- 7 June 1959
- Contracting states (2026)
- 172
- Depositary
- UN Secretary-General
- Official name
- Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards
- Subject matter
- Cross-border enforcement of arbitral awards and arbitration agreements
How cross-border enforcement actually works
Once an arbitral tribunal has rendered an award in any of the 172 contracting states, the winning party can take that award to a court in any other contracting state and ask the court to recognise it as binding and enforce it as if it were a domestic judgment. The procedure is governed by three core articles:
- Article III — the enforcing court must recognise the award as binding and enforce it under its local rules of procedure, without imposing substantially more onerous conditions than those applied to domestic awards.
- Article IV — the requesting party must produce a duly authenticated original (or certified copy) of the award and of the arbitration agreement, with a certified translation where required.
- Article V — the court may only refuse recognition or enforcement on the limited grounds listed: incapacity, invalid agreement, lack of proper notice, ultra petita, irregular tribunal or procedure, award not yet binding or set aside, non-arbitrability, or breach of public policy.
The pro-enforcement bias of the Convention is famously strong: courts read Article V grounds narrowly, and refusal rates across the major commercial seats remain in the low single digits.
All 172 contracting states (2026)
Source: United Nations Treaty Collection, Status of Treaties — Chapter XXII.1. Alphabetical.
How Akordans Enforcement uses the New York Convention
The Akordans Enforcement tier (€199/party) issues a consent arbitration award. Because that award originates in arbitration rather than mediation, it falls squarely within the scope of the New York Convention and can be recognised and enforced in any of the 172 contracting states.
For purely intra-EU disputes a mediated settlement is usually faster and cheaper — it becomes enforceable under Article 6 of the EU Mediation Directive. The New York Convention route comes into its own when one or both parties sit outside the EU.
Frequently asked questions
- How many contracting states does the New York Convention have in 2026?
- As of 2026 the New York Convention has 172 contracting states, making it one of the most widely adopted treaties in international commercial law. The full list is maintained by the United Nations Treaty Collection (Chapter XXII.1).
- What is the New York Convention?
- The Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards — commonly called the New York Convention — was adopted in New York on 10 June 1958. It obliges contracting states to recognise written arbitration agreements and to enforce arbitral awards made in the territory of another contracting state, subject to a narrow set of refusal grounds.
- How does enforcement work under Article III?
- Article III requires each contracting state to recognise arbitral awards as binding and enforce them in accordance with the rules of procedure of the territory where the award is relied upon, subject to the conditions in Articles IV and V. The procedure must not be substantially more onerous than that for domestic awards.
- On what grounds can recognition or enforcement be refused?
- Article V lists exhaustive refusal grounds: incapacity of a party, invalid arbitration agreement, lack of proper notice, award going beyond the submission, irregular composition of the tribunal or procedure, award not yet binding or set aside, non-arbitrability of the subject matter under the enforcing state's law, or contrary to that state's public policy.
- What documents are required to enforce a foreign arbitral award?
- Article IV requires the party seeking enforcement to supply (a) the duly authenticated original award or a certified copy, and (b) the original arbitration agreement or a certified copy. Where the documents are not in an official language of the enforcing country, a certified translation must also be supplied.
- How does the New York Convention differ from the Singapore Convention?
- The New York Convention (1958) governs the cross-border enforcement of arbitral awards. The Singapore Convention on Mediation (2019) provides an analogous enforcement framework for international mediated settlement agreements. The two instruments are complementary rather than overlapping.