Righting a Wrong : The Correction of Arbitral Awards

Post-award reliefs in the arbitral process include, inter alia, requests for correction, interpretation, and additional awards. These remedies have been conceptualised as a result of the understanding that even final awards may be contaminated by errors and oversights. The option to apply for correction of arbitral awards allows parties to side-step awards that are incongruous with their circumstances or intentions, and therefore, undesirable or unenforceable. Corrections may be warranted on several grounds, ranging from those purely technical or clerical to more serious mistakes and omissions. It can be argued that the significance of this particular post-award remedy has been underplayed. Accordingly, this editorial sheds light on the grounds on which correction can be sought, the practice across jurisdictions concerning time-periods for correction, the right to be heard in correction proceedings, and the appropriate authority for making corrections. By analysing all aspects of correction proceedings, the endeavour of this editorial is to propose a framework which ensures that the parties’ right to seek correction of arbitral awards is most effectively realised