Enforcement under the New York Convention begins as a documentary exercise. Article IV tells the creditor exactly what to put before the ADGM Courts — and getting the papers right is the difference between a clean recognition and an avoidable fight.
A deliberately short list
Article IV imposes only two documentary requirements on the party seeking enforcement: a duly authenticated original award or a duly certified copy, and the original arbitration agreement referred to in Article II or a duly certified copy. Nothing more may be demanded of the creditor at the application stage. This is the mirror image of Article V: the petitioner's threshold is light, and the burden then shifts to the respondent to establish a ground for refusal.
Authentication and certification
Authentication confirms the signatures on the award are genuine; certification confirms a copy is a true copy of the original. The Convention does not prescribe a single method, and the modern, pro-enforcement approach — which a common-law forum such as the ADGM is well placed to take — is to accept authentication or certification carried out under the law of either the country where the award was made or the forum. The practical goal is to satisfy the Court that the award is authentic, not to impose a formalistic obstacle course.
The petitioner's threshold is light by design; the real contest, if there is one, belongs to Article V.
Translations
Where the award or agreement is not in the language of the proceedings, Article IV(2) requires a translation certified by an official or sworn translator or by a diplomatic or consular agent. Before the ADGM Courts — which sit in English — a foreign-language award will typically need a certified English translation.
Timing and good order
The documents must be produced at the time of the application, though a well-run court will allow a curable deficiency to be put right rather than dismiss on a technicality. The disciplined creditor assembles the authenticated award, the agreement and the translations before filing, so that the application presents as complete on its face and gives the respondent nothing procedural to seize on.
Key instruments: New York Convention 1958 (Article IV, with Articles II and V); ADGM Arbitration Regulations 2015; ADGM Court Procedure Rules. General information, not legal advice.