The settlement of commercial disputes, particularly under sanctions regimes, has long been a serious challenge for commercial actors and has intensified the need to resort to arbitration as a flexible and independent mechanism, independent of governmental structures. Nevertheless, the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards may also face sanctions-related risks.

This article, adopting a descriptive–analytical method and relying on comparative studies and international instruments, examines the impact of sanctions-related risks on the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards and on the interpretation of sanctions as matters related to public policy. It seeks to address how sanctions may affect the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards and how these impacts can be managed so that arbitration remains an effective method for resolving commercial disputes under sanctions regimes.

To manage sanctions-related risks, measures such as selecting the seat of arbitration in jurisdictions adopting a restrictive interpretation of public policy, choosing a governing law under which sanctions are not regarded as part of public policy, and drafting arbitration clauses with due care are among the most significant strategies capable of considerably reducing sanctions-related risks at the stage of recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards.