Evidence in arbitrations: third party witnesses

Section 44(1) of the Arbitration Act 1996 provides that, unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the court has for the purposes of and in relation to arbitral proceedings the same power of making orders as it possesses for court proceedings in respect of a number of matters, including, in section 44(2)(a), the taking of the evidence of witnesses.

The question before the Court of Appeal in A and B v C, D and E [2020] EWCA Civ 409 was whether that power was exercisable where the evidence was to be provided by a third-party witness in an arbitration with its seat outside England.