The existence of an agreement

Section 9 of the Arbitration Act 1996 requires a court to stay its proceedings if they have been brought in contravention of an arbitration agreement. A dispute between the parties as to whether or not an arbitration agreement exists will generally be resolved by the court itself rather than referred to the arbitrators for their determination of their own jurisdiction under s30 of the 1996 Act. Maccaba v Lichtenstein [2006] EWHC 1901 (QB) involved an assertion of an arbitration agreement entered into after the dispute between the parties had been determined by an English court and the matter had reached the enforcement stage. Davis J was unimpressed with the argument.