Freedom To Choose

The freedom of parties to specify the arbitrators they can choose was decisively upheld by the UK's Supreme Court on 27 July 2011 in Jivraj v Hashwani. The ruling overturns the widely criticised Court of Appeal decision that an arbitration clause in a joint venture agreement was void for non-compliance with regulations implementing EU equality laws.

The joint venture agreement between Mr Jivraj and Mr Hashwani encompassed substantial business interests in Asia, Europe and North America. The agreement was governed by English law. Disputes between Mr Jivraj and Mr Hashwani under the agreement were to be referred to binding arbitration by a panel of three arbitrators sitting in London. All three arbitrators were to be respected members of the Ismaili community, whose leader is the Aga Khan. The parties were able to appoint one arbitrator each, and the third would be the President of the HH Aga Khan National Council for the United Kingdom.