The effect of the ruling invalidating the arbitration award on the arbitration agreement

The effect of an arbitration award invalidating the arbitration agreement

Lawyer Dr. Hisham Qaed Abdul Salam Al-Shamiri
Modern arbitration legislation, including the Yemeni Arbitration Law, permits filing a lawsuit to annul an arbitration award if one of the reasons mentioned in Article 53 of the Arbitration Law is met. An action to annul an arbitration award is an original action and not a means of challenging judicial rulings stipulated in the Code of Civil Procedure. Arbitration is an exceptional method of litigation and a departure from normal litigation methods. It is based on two wills: the will of individuals and the will of the legislator, which adopts the will of individuals and determines the scope and conditions of its implementation. Therefore, arbitration is fundamentally based on the existence of a valid and existing arbitration agreement. Given the importance of the arbitration agreement, the legislator has made its failure, invalidity, or lapse at the forefront of the reasons that permit a request to annul an arbitration award.
If a claim for nullity is filed against an arbitration award and the arbitration award is admissible and the arbitration award is annulled, the question arises about the effect of the ruling declaring the arbitration award invalid on the arbitration agreement. Does the arbitration agreement remain in effect after the ruling declaring the arbitration award invalid, with its effect and binding force against its two parties, such that recourse to arbitration may be made again based on the same arbitration agreement? Or does the arbitration agreement, after the ruling declaring the arbitration award invalid, expire in effect, such that recourse to arbitration may not be made again based on the same arbitration agreement? A distinction must be made regarding the effect of the ruling declaring the arbitration award invalid on the arbitration agreement, which are:
The first assumption: ruling on the invalidity of the arbitration award that is based on the arbitration agreement in terms of its existence, invalidity or enforceability: Jurisprudence and the judiciary agree that ruling on the invalidity of the arbitration award that is based on the arbitration agreement in terms of its existence, invalidity or enforceability, and which meets the condition of invalidity mentioned in paragraph (a) of Article 53 of the Arbitration Law regarding the absence of an arbitration agreement, its invalidity or its lapse, leads to the arbitration agreement being nullified and its effect being extinguished, such that it is not permissible to resort to arbitration that ruled the invalidity of the award issued therein again based on the same arbitration agreement, due to the loss of recourse to arbitration for its basis, which is the arbitration agreement. If the invalidity of the arbitration award is due to the reason mentioned in paragraph (a) of Article 53 of the Arbitration Law, which is the issuance of the arbitration award without the existence of an arbitration agreement, or based on an invalid arbitration agreement, or after the lapse of the arbitration agreement, then in this case it is not permissible to resort to arbitration that ruled the invalidity of the award issued therein again based on the same arbitration agreement, due to the loss of recourse to arbitration for its basis, which is the arbitration agreement. If the judgment issued in the nullity suit addresses the issue of the validity, invalidity or nullity of the arbitration agreement and rules that the arbitration award is invalid based on the non-existence, invalidity or nullity of the agreement, whether the judgment was express or implied, the judgment declaring the arbitration award invalid prevents resorting to arbitration and obliges the interested party, if he wishes to clai