Answer ... Yes. Where the arbitral award is rendered in the United States, the prevailing party in an arbitration must request a US court to ‘confirm’ the award against the losing party (9 USC §§9, 13, 207 and 304; CBF Indústria de Gusa S/A v AMCI Holdings, Inc, 850 F3d 58, 75 (2d Cir 2017)). This requires the filing of a petition to confirm along with supporting documents, such as a copy of the arbitration agreement and the arbitral award. A petition to confirm a domestic award “may” be filed “at any time within one year after the award is made”; and notice of the petition must be filed on the opposing party (9 USC § 9). Once a court judgment is entered confirming the award, that judgment has the same force and effect as any other court judgment entered in an action (9 USC § 13).

In connection with Chapter 2 of the FAA (enabling the New York Convention), the term ‘confirm’ is also used, but courts have explained as having a somewhat distinct meaning. (CBF Industria de Gusa/S/A v AMCI Holdings, Inc, 850 F 3d 58 (2d Cir), cert denied, 138 S Ct 557 (2017)). ‘Confirmed’ as used there “is the equivalent of ‘recognition and enforcement’ as used in the New York Convention for the purposes of foreign arbitral awards” (id at 72). Thus, to recognize and enforce foreign arbitral awards under Chapter 2 (9 USC §§ 201–208), one proceeds pursuant to 9 USC § 207 which provides that “[w]ithin three years after an arbitral award falling under the Convention is made, any party to the arbitration may apply to any court having jurisdiction under this chapter for an order confirming the award as against any other party to the arbitration [,and the] court shall confirm the award unless it finds one of the grounds for refusal or deferral of recognition or enforcement of the award specified in said Convention.” As to ‘non-domestic’ awards (i.e., award falling under the New York Convention but “not considered as domestic” in the US because of certain international components), federal appellate authority has held that, as the court of primary jurisdiction, the US court is “free to set aside or modify an award in accordance with its domestic law and its full panoply of express and implied grounds for relief.” See CBF Indústria de Gusa S/A, 850 F3d at 73-4 (explaining the distinctions between foreign and non-domestic awards under the New York Convention).