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ARTICLE · 28 NOVEMBER 2018

Court Sets Aside Arbitral Award For Serious Irregularity

Gowling WLG
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The recent Commercial Court decision in (1) RJ (2) L Ltd v HB provides a rare example of a party successfully challenging an arbitral award on grounds of serious irregularity.

United KingdomLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Gordon Bell
Gordon Bell
Christopher Richards
Christopher Richards
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The recent Commercial Court decision in (1) RJ (2) L Ltd v HB provides a rare example of a party successfully challenging an arbitral award on grounds of serious irregularity. It also considered whether the English court has the power to remove an arbitrator where it makes a finding of serious irregularity.

We look at how to challenge arbitral awards before the court, and how this challenge succeeded where many fail.

Challenging arbitral awards

One of the basic principles of the (English) Arbitration Act 1996 (the Act) is that the court should only intervene in arbitration in limited circumstances.

In accordance with this non-interventionist principle, the Act provides limited grounds on which arbitration awards can be challenged before the court. In short, they are:

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