The Implications of the Dallah Case for International Commercial Arbitration

Abstract

Two key questions that often intertwine in international commercial arbitration concern the validity of the arbitration agreement and of the award rendered. This chapter addresses the question of who has responsibility to determine these issues of validity by examining the recent conflicting decisions of an international arbitration tribunal, the English Supreme Court and the French Court of Appeal in the Dallah case. The central issue in Dallah was who the proper parties to an arbitration agreement were. The aim of this chapter is to ascertain whether the tribunal, the court of the seat of arbitration or the court where a party is seeking enforcement of award has the final say in matters concerning validity, and how the New York Convention should be viewed in this context. While the Supreme Court decision complies with the text of the New York Convention some consider it contradicts its purpose and spirit. Keywords:arbitration agreement; Dallah ; enforcement of award; English Supreme Court; French Court of Appeal; international commercial arbitration; New York Convention