Disputes About Contract Validity Can Be Arbitrated

Disputes whether or not a legal relationship exists between the parties may be resolved by arbitration, according to the Supreme Court.

The Civil Procedure Code permits the parties to provide for resolving disputes concerning property rights or non-property rights by arbitration, so long as they can be the object of a settlement.

The case concerned a dispute about the validity of a currency options agreement between a bank and an entrepreneur. The Supreme Court ruled that:

• disputes about the existence of contractual relationships in general, including currency options agreements, may be the object of a settlement;
• it was irrelevant that the dispute concerned the alleged invalidity of the basis on which the relationship was established;