A written agreement to submit any controversy thereafter arising or any existing controversy to arbitration is enforceable without regard to the justiciable character of the controversy and confers jurisdiction on the courts of the state to enforce it and to enter judgment on an award. In determining any matter arising under this article, the court shall not consider whether the claim with respect to which arbitration is sought is tenable, or otherwise pass upon the merits of the dispute.
§ 7501.Effect of arbitration agreement.
Article 75. Arbitration · Last amended 1963 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 7501 makes a written agreement to arbitrate a dispute enforceable in New York courts, whether the dispute already exists or arises later, and bars a judge from testing the strength of the underlying claim when enforcing that agreement or entering judgment on the resulting award.
Full Text of CPLR 7501
Plain-English Summary
CPLR 7501 is the foundation for arbitration law in New York. It says a written agreement to arbitrate — whether the parties signed it before any dispute arose or wrote it to submit a dispute already underway — carries the same legal force as any other contract, and the state's courts have the power to enforce it and to turn the resulting award into a court judgment.
The phrase “without regard to the justiciable character of the controversy” reaches beyond ordinary contract disputes. Parties can send matters to arbitration that a court could not otherwise hear on its own, and the agreement remains enforceable regardless. New York's courts treat the arbitration agreement itself as the source of authority, not the nature of the underlying claim.
The section also fences off a role courts might otherwise be tempted to play: judging whether the claim being arbitrated has merit. When a court is asked to compel arbitration, stay it, or confirm an award, CPLR 7501 tells the judge not to weigh whether the claim is likely to succeed. That question belongs to the arbitrator, not the bench.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does CPLR 7501 do?
It makes a written agreement to arbitrate enforceable in New York, whether the parties are submitting a dispute that already exists or agreeing in advance to arbitrate disputes that might arise later, and it gives courts the power to enter judgment on the award that results.
Does an arbitration agreement have to be in writing to be enforceable in New York?
Yes. CPLR 7501 speaks only to a “written agreement” to arbitrate — an oral promise to arbitrate does not carry the enforcement power this section provides.
Can parties arbitrate a dispute that a court could not otherwise decide?
Yes. The statute enforces the agreement “without regard to the justiciable character of the controversy,” so an arbitration agreement can reach disputes outside what a court could resolve on its own.
Will a New York judge decide whether my claim is strong enough before enforcing an arbitration agreement?
No. CPLR 7501 directs the court not to consider whether the claim sought to be arbitrated is tenable and not to pass on the merits of the dispute — that evaluation is reserved for the arbitrator.
Does CPLR 7501 cover future disputes, not just ones that already exist?
Yes. It covers both an agreement to submit an existing controversy to arbitration and a contract clause covering controversies that arise later.
Which court enforces an arbitration agreement under this section?
CPLR 7501 confers jurisdiction on “the courts of the state,” and CPLR 7502 fills in which court and county a party must use to bring the application.
Does CPLR 7501 itself let me turn an award into a judgment?
Advisory Committee Notes
This section is derived from CPA § 1449, part of § 1448 and the first sentence of § 1450. The term “agreement” is intended to embrace both submissions to arbitration of existing controversies and contracts to settle by arbitration controversies thereafter arising. The simple language rendering written arbitration agreements enforceable should place them on the same footing as any other enforceable agreement. Thus, the wording of § 1448, that they are “valid, enforceable and irrevocable, save upon such grounds as exist at law or in equity for the revocation of any contract,” has been omitted as unnecessary. Similarly, the first two sentences of former § 1468, which provide the means of commencing or continuing arbitration in the case of the death or incompetency of a party to an arbitration agreement, have been omitted. In accordance with the general rules of contract law, the rights and duties would devolve upon the successors and representatives of the parties.
The requirement of CPA § 1448 that submissions of existing disputes must be of a nature “which may be the subject of an action” is eliminated because there appears to be no justification for such a limitation. The phrase “without regard to the justiciable character of the controversy” emphasizes this decision. The existing distinction between submissions of present disputes and agreements concerning disputes which may arise in the future has been justly and repeatedly criticized. See Prashker, New York Practice 836 (3d ed 1954); Sturges, Some General Standards for a State Arbitration Statute, 7 Arb J (ns) 194, 195, 196 (1952); Yonge, Arbitration of an Ordinary Civil Claim in Florida, 6 U Fla L Rev 157, 167 (1953). Several states whose arbitration statutes are modeled upon the New York act do not have such a limitation. See, e.g., Cal Code Civ Proc § 1280; NJ Rev Stat §§ 2A:24-1, 2A:24-2 (1951).
The elimination of this limitation makes it unnecessary to provide separately for labor disputes, as in the former section which was recently amended to eliminate a similar requirement relating to labor agreements because it handicapped labor arbitrations. See Amendments of New York Arbitration Statutes, 7 Arb J (ns) 87 (1952). It is thus contemplated that agreements under this section may concern controversies dealing with rates of pay, wages, hours of employment or other terms and conditions of employment without the necessity of the specific language of former § 1448; “re-opening clauses,” for future adjustments of wages and the like, contained in existing contracts may continue to be the subject of arbitration. See 21 Carmody-Wait, Cyclopedia of New York Practice 410 (1956). If there is any problem as to the binding effect of labor contracts on individual employees or employer members of associations, neither the former act nor this article meets it. This does not appear to be the appropriate place to resolve such a problem. A suggestion that there be a separate act for labor arbitration has been rejected because there has been no difficulty under a single act. While labor arbitrations deal with questions quite different from commercial and other arbitrations, the problems arising out of the arbitral process itself and the statutory provisions needed to meet these problems are similar. See Pirsig, Toward a Uniform Arbitration Act, 9 Arb J (ns) 115, 116 (1954). See also Sturges, The Need for Modern Arbitration Laws, 7 Arb J (ns) 130, 132 (1952).
The rule in former § 1448 that arbitration agreements may include questions arising out of valuations, appraisals or other controversies which may be collateral or independent (the words “or independent” were added in 1952) of any issue between the parties is not changed by this article, although the express provision is omitted, since the language of this section is broad enough to include that rule. For a discussion of the reasons for this language, see 17 NY Jud Council Rep 237-38 (1951). Similarly, the former provisions excepting controversies concerning claims to a fee in real property appear to be hangovers from the time when arbitration was not fully accepted. They have also been dropped. See Sturges, Some General Standards for a State Arbitration Statute, 7 Arb J (ns) 194–95 (1952).
The provisions in former § 1448 relating to infants and incompetents have been covered by § 1209.
This section requires only that the agreements be in writing, eliminating the former requirement of § 1449 of a subscription by the party to be charged on agreements regarding existing controversies. The same degree of formality is required therefore under this article for both agreements to submit future disputes and submissions of existing controversies. See Prashker, New York Practice 842–43 (3d ed 1954); Sturges, Some General Standards for a State Arbitration Statute, 7 Arb J (ns) 194, 196 (1952); 17 NY Jud Council Rep 227–28 (1951). The California and New Jersey statutes and the labor arbitration clause of CPA § 1448 only require that the agreement be in writing. Requiring all agreements to be subscribed would create uniformity, but, at least as to future disputes, it would upset routine business practices. Many commercial contracts are made without subscription—by accepting purchase orders, by brokers’ notes, by performance and by silent assent. See 17 NY Jud Council Rep 227–28 (1951).
This section also includes the provision formerly found in the first sentence of CPA § 1450 by providing that the making of an arbitration agreement confers jurisdiction on the courts of the state to enforce it and to enter judgment on an award. For a discussion of the need for such a provision, see 17 NY Jud Council Rep 220–24 (1951). Although several of the former provisions used the term “supreme court,” this article applies to any court of competent jurisdiction of the state. There is nothing in the Constitution which would preclude such jurisdiction being conferred on other courts. Thus, whether a court has such jurisdiction is governed by the statute regulating the court’s powers. See, e.g., NYC Munic Ct Code §§ 6(6), 8(3).
Amendment History
Add, L 1962, ch 308; amd, L 1963, ch 532, § 47, eff Sept 1, 1963.
Source & verification. Provision text, History, and Advisory
Committee Notes are reproduced verbatim from the Consolidated Laws of New York.
Last verified July 21, 2026.
· Official source
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