Arbitration Law Monthly

The decision of Cockerill J in ZCCM Investments Holdings plc v Kansanshi Holdings Ltd [2019] EWHC 1285 (Comm) ranges over a number of important points of arbitration law, namely: the distinction between an award and a procedural order; serious irregularity; an allegation that the award was obtained by fraud; and extension of time.

In Soletanche Bachy France SAS v Aqaba Container Terminal (Pvt) Co [2019] EWHC 362 (Comm) a series of four challenges were made to an arbitration award. That of greatest interest related to the arbitrators’ continuing obligation to disclose potential conflicts of interest. The challenges were all dismissed on the facts.

Robin Knowles J in Aqaba Container Terminal (Pvt) Co v Soletanche Bachy France SAS [2019] EWHC 471 (Comm) adopted a traditional approach to the grant of anti-suit relief where foreign judicial proceedings were brought in breach of an arbitration clause. There was a slight complicating factor in that the foreign proceedings raised constitutional issues that were not justiciable in England, but the court found that the proceedings also involved impinging on issues covered by the arbitration clause.

In J v K [2019] EWHC 273 (Comm) there was an allegation that the tribunal had sought to reopen an award by making a conflicting ruling in a later award, and that such conduct was beyond the jurisdiction of the tribunal. Butcher J rejected the underlying contention that the tribunal had in fact reached a different conclusion, but was of the view that an error of that sort did not go to jurisdiction.

The Arbitration Act 1996 adopts the principle of finality of awards, so that the time limits for an appeal to the court against an award – whether on jurisdictional, procedural or substantive grounds – is, under section 70(3) of the Act, 28 days from the notification of the award. The court does have the power to extend time, under section 80(5) of the 1996 Act, but the cases show that even if there are only short delays then an extension will be refused.