Guide
We agreed
to arbitration
Many commercial agreements send disputes to an arbitrator rather than a court. That works only if the clause was written properly and the award can be enforced where the other side’s assets are. This page is about both ends of that.
Where this applies This page covers arbitration involving a party in Pakistan, and enforcement in Pakistan. Enforcement in the country you live in is a matter for advisers there.
What this is about
Arbitration is a private decision by a person or panel the parties chose, and it binds them. In Pakistan it is governed by statute, and a foreign award can be enforced there through the courts. The clause decides the seat, the rules and the number of arbitrators, and a clause that is vague on those is an invitation to argue about the process instead of the dispute.
The award is not the end. If the other side does not pay, the award has to be taken to a court in the place where the assets are and turned into an order that court will enforce.
What has to be in place
What has to be clear.
The arbitration clause, exactly as written.
Where the other side’s assets are.
Whether an arbitration has already started or an award already exists.
Note Your advocate confirms which of these apply to your case.
The documents you will be asked for
What an advocate asks for.
- The agreement with the clause.
- The correspondence about the dispute.
- The award, if there is one, and the record of the arbitration.
How an advocate helps from where you are
What an advocate does.
- Reads the clause and tells you whether it will hold.
- Represents you in the arbitration, in Pakistan or with counsel elsewhere.
- Enforces an award in Pakistan against the other side’s assets.
What to ask before you agree
- Will this arbitration clause hold, as written?
- Where are the other side’s assets, and can an award be enforced there?
- Will you represent us in the arbitration, or only at enforcement?
- What do you need from me, and by when?
- What is your fee, and what is not included in it?
More in Disputes
Also relevant
Words you will meet
- arbitration
- A private, binding decision by a person the parties chose.
- award
- The arbitrator’s decision.
- seat
- The legal home of the arbitration, which decides which courts supervise it.
Written
11 September 2026
Pakistan.