Commencement of proceedings: extension of time

Section 12 of the Arbitration Act 1996 permits the court to extend the contractually agreed time limit for commencing arbitration proceedings, albeit under very restrictive conditions. Haven Insurance Co Ltd v EUI Ltd [2018] EWCA Civ 2494 is an example of that power being exercised in exceptional circumstances where the relevant institutional rules were unclear as to the trigger for the running of time and the institution itself had adopted a practice of recognising the relevant date.

Haven : the facts