Arbitration Act · 2024 Revised Edition · Part · Powers of Court in Relation to Award
45. Determination of preliminary point of law
Official textFrom Attorney General's Chambers, unchanged
Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the Court may, on the application of a party to the arbitration proceedings who has given notice to the other parties, determine any question of law arising in the course of the proceedings which the Court is satisfied substantially affects the rights of one or more of the parties.
The Court shall not consider an application under this section unless —
it is made with the agreement of all parties to the proceedings;
or
it is made with the permission of the arbitral tribunal and the
Court is satisfied that —
the determination of the question is likely to produce substantial savings in costs; and
the application is made without delay.
The application shall identify the question of law to be determined and, except where made with the agreement of all parties to the proceedings, shall state the grounds on which it is said that the question should be decided by the Court.
Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the arbitral tribunal may continue the arbitral proceedings and make an award while an application to the Court under this section is pending.
arbitral tribunal
“arbitral tribunal” means a sole arbitrator, a panel of arbitrators or an arbitral institution;
Except with the leave of the Court, no appeal shall lie from a decision of the Court on whether the conditions in subsection (2) are met.
The decision of the Court on a question of law shall be a judgment of the Court for the purposes of an appeal to the Court of Appeal.
The Court may give leave to appeal against the decision of the
Court in subsection (6) only if it considers that the question of law before it is
Arbitration one of general importance, or is one which for some other special reason should be considered by the Court of Appeal.
Terms defined in s 2
arbitral tribunal
Defined · s 2“arbitral tribunal” means a sole arbitrator, a panel of arbitrators or an arbitral institution;
award
Defined · s 2“award” means a decision of the arbitral tribunal on the substance of the dispute and includes any interim, interlocutory or partial award, but excludes any order or direction made under section 28;
party
Defined · s 2“party” means a party to an arbitration agreement or, in any case where an arbitration does not involve all of the parties to the arbitration agreement, means a party to the arbitration;
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