Challenging an arbitration award under section 69 of the Arbitration Act 1996: Ravi Aswani & Valya Georgieva discuss appeals on a point of law
- Challenging an arbitration award under section 69 of the Arbitration Act 1996.
- The Law Commission’s proposal that no reform to section 69 is necessary, as it strikes a workable compromise between finality and consistency in application of the law.
Where the seat of the arbitration is England, Wales or Northern Ireland (assumed for the purposes of this article), the Arbitration Act 1996 (AA 1996) confirms, in s 58, that unless otherwise agreed by the parties, an award made by the tribunal pursuant to an arbitration agreement is final and binding on them. However, AA 1996 sets out three routes to challenge an arbitral award: ss 67, 68 and 69 of the AA 1996. Sections 67 (substantive jurisdiction) and 68 (serious irregularity) are mandatory provisions, while s 69 (point of law) can be contracted out of by the agreement of the parties.
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