The Nigerian Court of Appeal has handed down a decision that bears significantly on public-policy defences to the enforcement of arbitral awards, particularly on the enforcement of awards where the underlying dispute arose from an agreement which is registrable, but has not been registered, under the NOTAP Act,1 as well as on scenarios where an award is alleged to have been obtained in violation of an anti-arbitration injunction.
In Champion Breweries Plc v. Brauerei Beck GMBH & Co. KG,2 the Court of Appeal concluded that failure to register a registrable agreement under the NOTAP Act did not make an arbitral award arising from the agreement unenforceable. The Court also precluded a party from resisting enforcement on public policy ground because the party had condoned the act alleged to be contrary to public policy.
