9911796707
TMI Blog1989 (9) TMI 391X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... a) of the charter party provided that the charter shall be construed and the relations between the parties shall be determined in accordance with the English Law. Clause 40(b) of the charter party provided that any dispute arising under the charter party shall be decided by the English Courts but that either party may elect, in writing, to have the dispute referred to the arbitration of a single arbitrator in London in accordance with the (English) Arbitration Act, 1950. , Disputes and differences arose between the parties, and they appointed one Mr. Robert William Reed of the Baltic Exchange and of 28, Reddons Road, Beckenham, Kent BR 3 ILZ to be the sole arbitrator. The parties appeared before the arbitrator represented by their respec ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s that from 8th June, 1982 the interest rate on judgment debt in England was 14% per annum. The award is enforceable under the Foreign Awards (Recognition Enforcement) Act, 1961 (hereinafter called the Act ). The appellant filed an application under the Act in the High Court of Bombay, inter alia, contending for the judgment be pronounced and a decree to be passed according to the award in favour of the appellant. The learned Single Judge of the High Court by his judgment and order dated 21st February, 1983 decreed in favour of the appellant and directed the respondent to pay interest and costs of the award so awarded by the arbitrator and also cost of the petition. The learned Judge, however, rejected the appellant s prayer for the c ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... and as such it appears that the application to have the costs taxed was made only after the appeal was filed. No order could be made directing the respondent to make payment to the appellant of the costs so taxed. The Division Bench held that if the appellant was entitled to file a fresh petition for such costs, it might adopt such proceedings. Aggrieved thereby, the appellant has come up before this Court. We are unable to uphold the views of the Division Bench of the Bombay High Court that no order could have been made by the Division Bench directing the respondent to make payment to the appellant s costs so taxed. Foreign awards, as it manifests, are executable in this country under the provisions of the Act. The Act in question was ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n, any expression or phrase occurring therein should receive, consistent with its literal and grammatical sense, a liberal construction. The judgment has been pronounced in terms of the aforesaid and a decree has followed. The award enjoins, inter alia, that the Chatterers do pay and bear their own costs and the owner s costs of reference (the latter to be taxed in the event of disagreement). The judgment and decree which was pronounced in terms of the award did not direct any cost taxed or quantified of the reference to be paid. Indubitably, the costs of reference have been awarded. The award, read properly, means, so far as costs of the reference are concerned, that it was an award upon certain conditions, i.e., the award stipulated t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d that there is no scope for addition to the award and the award had to be executed as it was and the costs of reference had not been awarded. We are in agreement with Mr. Ganesh that the award must be executed as it is and there is no scope for any addition to any award in executing a foreign award but the award to be executed must be properly construed and given effect to. If the award is ambiguous, the court has jurisdiction to determine what it means. In this case, the award is not ambiguous. It is clear that the costs of reference should be paid by the respondent, and that such costs should be paid as are determined by agreement between the parties and in case of failure of the agreement by the taxation, such costs have been taxed and ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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