Serious irregularity: deferring the award

Where there are concurrent judicial proceedings involving the same parties to an arbitration, it might be logical for the tribunal to either stay its proceedings or at least defer its award pending the outcome of those proceedings.

However, if the outcome of the judicial proceedings will not create an issue estoppel because the parties to the arbitration and to the proceedings are different, then any judgment is no more than evidence. The question then becomes whether the tribunal should defer its award pending the judgment. That question was discussed by Males J in SCM Financial Overseas Ltd v Raga Establishment Ltd [2018] EWHC 1008 (Comm).