Arbitration Act 1996: a fine balance

• Stay applications and anti-suit injunctions.
• Measures available in support of arbitration.
• Challenge of awards for serious irregularity.
• Provisions relating to recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards.
• Arbitrator bias.

Last year there were 93 reported cases referring to provisions of the Arbitration Act 1996 (AA 1996). The provisions most frequently invoked concerned stay applications and anti-suit injunctions (s 9), measures available in support of arbitration (s 44), challenge of awards for serious irregularity (s 68), as well as provisions relating to recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards (s 101-103). A highly significant decision was rendered by the Supreme Court in November 2020 concerning arbitrator bias (s 24) which has provoked international debate. The key cases are referred to below.

Section 9

In the case of The Republic of Mozambique v Credit Suisse and others [2020] EWHC 2012 (Comm) (30 July 2020) Mr Justice Waksman provided a very helpful analysis