Arbitration—Award—Appeal

Queen’s Bench Division, Technology and Construction Court, Akenhead J, 16 Dec 2010

If no question of English law has arisen, there is no power in the English court to grant leave to appeal under s 69(1) of the Arbitration Act 1996 (AA 1996).

Justin Rushbrooke (instructed by Taylor Vinters) for the claimant. Juliette Levy (instructed by Lorells) for the defendant.

The deceased died in 2006 leaving a widow and two sons, the claimant and the defendant, and two daughters. The deceased was anxious to avoid UK inheritance tax and over a number of years had transferred a number of properties to members of his family. After his death, the claimant and defendant fell out with each other, with the claimant contending that various properties held or owned by the defendant had been held on trust for, amongst others, him. The parties agreed to refer their disputes to the Beth Din, the court of the Chief Rabbi, in London. Following substantive hearings the Beth Din arbitrators (Dayanim)