Court Reviews Status Of Arbitration Awards

In the case of Sucafina SA v Rotenberg [2012], the court examined the status of various arbitration awards and whether a provision in the arbitral institution's rules regarding payment of its costs invalidated the final and binding award.

Section 39 of the Arbitration Act 1996 allows the parties to agree that the tribunal may make a provisional award (which is subject to the tribunal's final award on the merits). Section 47 allows the tribunal to make awards on different issues ("partial awards") – such awards being final and binding on the parties.

In issue in the case of Sucafina SA v Rotenberg was the status of certain "appeal interim awards" made by a Board of Appeal. The appellant sought to argue that these awards, although they represented the Board of Appeal's final decision on the matters with which they dealt (and it did not intend to revisit those matters), they remained conditional until a further award was made which operated to ratify them (pursuant to