ADJUDICATION, ARBITRATION AND STAY OF PROCEEDINGS

Collins (Contractors) Ltd v Baltic Quay Ocean Management (1994) Ltd [2004] EWCA Civ 1757 (unreported, 7 December 2004)

In Collins (Contractors) Ltd v Baltic Quay Ocean Management (1994) Ltd [2004] EWCA Civ 1757 (unreported, 7 December 2004) the Court of Appeal considered the relationship between the adjudication provisions to be found in the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (hereafter the 1996 Act) and s9 of the Arbitration Act 1996. It was held that there was nothing in s111 of the 1996 Act to entitle the court to refuse to grant a stay under s9(4) of the Arbitration Act 1996 if it would otherwise be granted. Section 111 is concerned with the substantive rights of the parties and it does not deal with the question whether the claim for monies wrongfully withheld should be determined by a court or by an arbitrator. Finally, Lord Justice Clarke helpfully summarised the case-law in relation to the meaning of the word ‘dispute’. He adopted a rather broad approach to the identification of a dispute, concluding that, while the mere making of a claim does not amount to a dispute, a dispute will be held to exist once it can reasonably be inferred that a claim is not admitted.