Termination of agreement

Downing v Al Tameer Establishment ([2002] EWCA Civ 721)

Where one party refused to go to arbitration, the commencement of judicial proceedings by the other party amounted to an acceptance of the repudiation of the arbitration clause with the effect it ceased to operate. Whether or not the commencement of the judicial proceedings was a breach of contract depended upon the circumstances, and in appropriate circumstances that act could indeed amount to an act of acceptance of repudiation. What was required for acceptance was a demonstration of a clear and unequivocal indication of such acceptance.