§ 9-9-12.Confirmation of award by court

An arbitration award means little until a court gives it force, and this section is the mechanism for that step. It works almost automatically: apply within one year after the award is delivered, and the court must confirm it. There is no discretion built into the word “shall” — confirmation is the default outcome once the deadline is met.

The only escape hatch is if the award has instead been vacated or modified through the procedures set out elsewhere in this part. Vacation and modification each come with their own deadlines and narrow grounds, so a party hoping to avoid confirmation cannot object at the confirmation stage alone — the challenge has to be raised through the right application, on time.

Confirmation itself is what unlocks enforcement. Once the court confirms the award, it becomes the basis for entering judgment, which can then be enforced like any other civil judgment — through garnishment, liens, or whatever collection tools the judgment creditor needs.