Arbitration Law Monthly

In General Dynamics United Kingdom Ltd v State of Libya [2022] EWHC 501 (Comm) Butcher J dealt with two short points on the question whether an order granting for enforcement of an arbitration award under section 101 of the Arbitration Act 1996 should be set aside for non-disclosure in the arbitration claim form.

The right to seek permission to appeal against an award for error of law under section 69 of the Arbitration Act 1996 is subject to the contrary agreement of the parties. In National Iranian Oil Co v Crescent Petroleum Co International Ltd [2022] EWHC 1645 (Comm) the question was whether such an agreement had been entered into.

In PJSC National Bank Trust and Another v Mints and Others [2022] EWHC 871 (Comm) Foxton J undertook a detailed analysis of the law relating to the binding effect of an arbitration award on third parties who were not involved in the arbitration but who were closely associated with them. The court’s overall conclusion was that it would be a rare case in which a third party would be precluded by issue estoppel or abuse of process from relitigating issues dealt with in the arbitration.

English law has at long last caught up with that of other leading arbitral nations and recognised a distinction between jurisdiction and admissibility. The former permits a challenge by the court on the basis that the tribunal had no power to hear the matter allegedly referred to it. The latter allows the tribunal to make its own decisions on procedural issues without judicial intervention. In NWA and Another v NVF and Others [2021] EWHC 2666 (Comm) Calver J held that the decision of an arbitrator to hear a case despite there being a dispute as to whether a precondition for mediation had been satisfied was one that went to admissibility rather than jurisdiction.