Arbitration—Reinsurance

The court had the power to remove an arbitrator on the grounds that he did not possess the necessary qualifications, pursuant to s 24(1) of the Arbitration Act 1996. Further, applying settled law, a Queen's Counsel, with considerable experience as a lawyer in insurance and reinsurance disputes, was not qualified to act as an arbitrator, within the meaning of cl 15.5 of a contract of reinsurance (incorporating the Joint Excess Loss Committee excess loss clauses). Where cl 15.5 had been adopted, the tribunal was to consist of persons from the trade or business of insurance and reinsurance. The Commercial Court so ruled in granting the claimant's application for an order that a QC be removed as an arbitrator on the ground that he was not qualified to act as such. The application arose out of