Time Limits For Challenging Arbitral Awards: What E v F Confirms About Late Amendments

Key takeaway

The Commercial Court's decision in E v F [2026] EWHC 1493 (Comm) confirms that a party who challenges an arbitral award within the statutory 28-day window does not buy itself a longer runway to amend that challenge later. In E v F, an amendment application brought 162 days after the award, more than five times the statutory deadline, was refused, even though the amendment did not raise a new ground of challenge and even though the original challenge had been filed in time. The message is clear: get the challenge right the first time.

What happened in E v F?

The case concerned a State's challenge to an award made against it in an investment treaty arbitration. The award was issued on 31 July 2025. The State brought proceedings under sections 67 and 68 of the Arbitration Act 1996 on 27 August 2025, comfortably within the 28-day period set by section 70 of the Act.