Aldcroft v The International Cotton Association Ltd – QBD (Comm Ct) (David Foxton QC sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge) [2017] EWHC 642 (Comm) – 30 March 2017

Arbitration – Rules of trade association placing limit on acceptance of repeat appointments by an arbitrator and limiting number of active arbitrations in which an arbitrator might be involved – Whether limitations constituted unreasonable restraint of trade – International Cotton Association Ltd

The claimant asked the court to declare that what was known as the “3 and 8 rule” in the Arbitrators’ Code of Conduct of the International Cotton Association Ltd (the ICA) was void and unenforceable as an unreasonable restraint of trade. The claimant earned his living as a full-time arbitrator in ICA disputes.