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ARTICLE · 02 JULY 2019

Rare Successful Challenge To Arbitral Award For "Serious Irregularity"

Gowling WLG
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The recent Commercial Court decision in K & Others v P & Others provides a rare example of a party successfully challenging an arbitral award on grounds of serious irregularity.

United KingdomLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Michael Darowski
Michael Darowski
Christopher Richards
Christopher Richards
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The recent Commercial Court decision in K & Others v P & Others provides a rare example of a party successfully challenging an arbitral award on grounds of serious irregularity. Here we look at how to challenge arbitral awards before the court, and how this challenge succeeded where the majority 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 only limited grounds on which arbitration awards can be challenged in court. In short, they are:

  • Challenge on grounds that the tribunal lacked substantive jurisdiction (s.67 of the Act)

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