GILS Dispute Resolution: Turkmenistan (2026)

Ikbal Said Alauddin, Lachin Amandurdyyeva

CASE:

An Associate office of GRATA International, represented by the law firm "Hukuk Consulting," has continued its participation in shaping the judicial practice regarding the application of the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, adopted on June 10, 1958, in New York (hereinafter referred to as the "New York Convention"), in Turkmenistan. This work is being conducted within the framework of a case concerning the recognition and enforcement of a foreign arbitral award, which commenced in July 2025.

Previously, the Arbitration Court of Turkmenistan considered for the first time a Petition for the recognition and enforcement of a foreign arbitral award on the territory of Turkmenistan (hereinafter referred to as the "Petition") based on the provisions of the New York Convention. This case served as the first practical example of applying this international mechanism within the national jurisdiction and highlighted a number of key issues regarding the conditions of its application within the national legal system.

As is well known, Turkmenistan applies the New York Convention with three reservations, namely:

1. Turkmenistan will ensure the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards only if they were rendered in the territory of another contracting state;

2. Turkmenistan will apply the Convention only to disputes which are considered commercial under its national legislation;

3. Turkmenistan will apply the Convention only to awards rendered after the Convention entered into force for Turkmenistan.

In the case under consideration, the parties' primary focus was centered on the qualification of the dispute and the scope of the commercial reservation, as well as issues regarding the temporal applicability of the Convention. The court of first instance assessed the arguments presented and formulated a position regarding the nature of the legal relationships in dispute, taking into account the provisions of the Law on Accession to the Convention, as well as other norms of domestic legislation.

During the cassation review, the parties confirmed their previously stated positions, and the court verified the legality and validity of the first-instance findings, upholding the established approach to the application of the Convention’s reservations.

The practical significance of this case lies in the fact that it has established benchmarks for the future application of the New York Convention in Turkmenistan. The judicial authorities demonstrated a consistent approach to evaluating the nature of the dispute and the conditions for applying the international treaty. For participants in cross-border transactions, this underscores the necessity of a preliminary analysis to determine whether a specific legal relationship falls under the definition of a "commercial dispute" within the meaning of national legislation, as this specific qualification can determine the prospects for the recognition and enforcement of an arbitral award.

Thus, this case can be regarded as a significant milestone in the development of judicial practice in the field of international commercial arbitration in Turkmenistan.