Error of law: test for judicial review

Under section 69 of the Arbitration Act 1996, subject to contrary agreement, there can be an appeal against the award of a tribunal for error of law. The cases make it clear that the jurisdiction of the court is limited to cases where the arbitrators have either applied the wrong legal test to their factual findings, or at least have purported to apply the right test but have done so in a way that shows that they did not really understand the correct test.

Simmonds v Gammell [2016] EWHC 2515 (Comm), a decision of retired High Court Judge, Sir Jeremy Cooke QC, is a recent illustration of the inability of the court to intervene where the arbitrators have applied the correct test in a manner reasonably open to them. The court’s view on the correctness or otherwise of the ruling is irrelevant.