Arbitration

Abstract

This chapter deals with the private international law of arbitration and arbitral proceedings. The point of departure is to note that the manner in which an arbitral tribunal goes about its business is something not governed the rules of private international law applicable to proceedings before a court, but by the rules which regulate the powers of the tribunal as such. But the rules of private international law which are applied when a court has to determine the existence, validity, and scope of an agreement to arbitrate are examined in this chapter, with a view to establishing the proper demarcation between the laws governing the substantive agreement, the arbitration agreement, and the arbitral procedure. The interpretation of various formulations of choice of law clause is examined, as is the relevance of the law of the seat. The effect of an arbitration agreement on the institution or continuation of judicial proceedings is examined, as is the power of an English court to prevent foreign proceedings which interfere with an arbitration or with a decision that the parties have no obligation to arbitrate a dispute. The effect of foreign awards is largely governed by the 1958 New York Convention, but the effect of foreign judgments decreeing the enforcement or non-enforcement of the award, or purporting to set aside the award, is shown to be less straightforward.