§ 172.144.Interest

Seven words of authority, and they matter more than the length suggests.

The tribunal may award interest. The power is granted without conditions.

The parties may agree otherwise, and contracts often fix a rate or exclude interest entirely.

No rate is prescribed. The section leaves the rate, the period and the method to the tribunal, subject to the governing law under Section 172.102.

The silence is deliberate. A statutory rate written for Texas would be the wrong rate for a dispute governed by another country’s law and denominated in another currency.

Interest is often the second-largest number in an award. Cross-border disputes take years, and interest across that period can rival the principal.

The domestic chapter has no equivalent. Chapter 171 says nothing about interest, leaving it to the agreement and the law governing the claim.

The section is carried into post-award corrections, since Section 172.150 applies it to a correction or interpretation under Section 172.147 and an additional award under Section 172.148.

Costs are a separate question, governed by Section 172.145 and also left to the tribunal’s discretion.

Currency matters alongside rate. An award denominated in one currency and paid in another carries a further question the tribunal addresses under the governing law.

Pre-award and post-award interest are separate questions. The section grants the power without dividing it, leaving the periods to the tribunal.