The Arbitrability of Corporate Disputes After Fulham Football Club V. Richards: A Decade On

Abstract

In Fulham Football Club (1987) Ltd v. Richards and The Football Association Premier League Ltd, the Court of Appeal of England and Wales settled a controversial matter, finding that unfair prejudice petitions under section 994 of the English Arbitration Act 1996 could be referred to arbitration. At the time the judgment was handed down, it was met with some scepticism with commentators arguing that it would lead to inconsistency and confusion in the arbitrability of disputes and the remedies that can be awarded in arbitration. In the years that followed, the Court of Appeal’s judgment has been relied on in the development of the arbitrability of corporate disputes in England and Wales and several other common law jurisdictions. On the occasion of the ten-year anniversary of the Fulham decision, this article explores whether the confusion and inconsistency that commentators predicted have, in fact, materialized. Arbitrability, Arbitration Act 1996, Corporate disputes, Fulham Football Club v. Richards, Remedies, Section 994, Unfair prejudice