The Court — overviewCourt powers in support of arbitration

The court has a number of powers it can exercise, although the general principle is minimal court intervention in an arbitration. These powers are set out in the Arbitration Act 1996.

Examples of such powers are:

• securing the attendance of witnesses

• determination of a preliminary point of law

Application to court in support of an arbitration

There are a number of different types of applications which can be made to the court in support of an arbitration. When considering making such an application it is important to be aware that you may require the permission of the tribunal or agreement of the other parties to the arbitration.

The procedure for such applications is set out in CPR 62 and there are also specific requirements as to where such an application can be issued.

Stay of court proceedings - to enable arbitration

A party can apply to the court to stay court proceedings which were started despite a valid arbitration agreement. A court must grant a stay unless it finds that the arbitration agreement is 'null and void', inoperative or incapable of being performed. The right to apply for a stay maybe lost if the challenging party takes 'any steps' in the proceedings.

Proceedings brought in breach of an arbitration agreement may entitle the defendant to indemnity costs.

Stay of court proceedings - to enable adjudication

If a contract contains an arbitration clause and a party is entitled to adjudicate a dispute under the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 the court does not have any jurisdiction to determine whether the arbitration should be stayed to enable an adjudication to take place. it should be noted that a party may request the arbitration tribunal to exercise its discretion to stay the arbitration pending the adjudication.

Stay of arbitration - following a settlement agreement

Where parties have agreed a settlement then if it does not cover all of the issues in dispute between the parties the tribunal will still have jurisdiction to deal with those issues a court must refer such disputes to the arbitral tribunal. If there is a dispute as to whether a settlement agreement was reached or its terms then again the dispute must be decided by the arbitral tribunal, the court does not have the power to grant an injunction to prevent a party pursuing the dispute by arbitration.