English court support for commercial arbitration: a practical guide

The relationship between tribunal and court

The Arbitration Act 1996 is founded on party autonomy, fair resolution without unnecessary delay or expense, and limited court intervention. English courts nevertheless perform important supportive and supervisory functions. The relevant power depends on the seat, the arbitration agreement, whether a tribunal is constituted, the urgency of the application and whether the tribunal or institution can act effectively.

The Arbitration Act 2025 amended the 1996 framework and, save for provisions already effective, came into force on 1 August 2025. It addresses the law governing arbitration agreements, arbitrator disclosure, summary disposal, emergency arbitrators, court powers in support of proceedings and the procedure for jurisdiction challenges.

Arbitration Act 1996 → · Arbitration Act 2025 →

Questions to answer before applying to court

1. What law governs the substantive contract, arbitration agreement and procedure?
2. Where is the legal seat, and which court has supervisory jurisdiction?
3. Has the tribunal been constituted, and can it or an emergency arbitrator grant effective relief?
4. Is the proposed order urgent, directed at a party or third party, and within the court's statutory or general jurisdiction?
5. Does the arbitration clause cover the dispute and bind every relevant party?
6. What confidentiality, service, foreign-law and parallel-proceeding issues arise?
7. Will the order assist the arbitration and eventual enforcement rather than duplicate or disrupt the tribunal?

Staying court proceedings in favour of arbitration

Section 9 requires the court, on a qualifying application, to stay proceedings brought in respect of a matter which the parties agreed to refer to arbitration, unless the agreement is null and void, inoperative or incapable of being performed. Timing matters: a defendant may lose the right to a stay by taking a step in the proceedings to answer the substantive claim.

The court must identify the matters in the litigation, the scope of the arbitration agreement and the parties bound by it. Multi-party and multi-contract disputes may produce a partial stay or questions about case management, non-signatories and related claims.

Anti-suit relief protecting an arbitration agreement

An English court may in an appropriate case restrain foreign proceedings brought in breach of an arbitration agreement. The juridical basis, personal jurisdiction over the respondent, seat and available foreign remedy all require analysis. Relief is discretionary and must be sought promptly.

In UniCredit Bank GmbH v RusChemAlliance LLC [2024] UKSC 30, the Supreme Court upheld English anti-suit relief protecting an English-law arbitration agreement even though the arbitration was seated in Paris. The Court explained that the power arose under section 37 of the Senior Courts Act 1981 rather than section 44 of the 1996 Act.

Official Supreme Court judgment in UniCredit v RusChemAlliance →

Interim measures under section 44

Section 44 enables the court to make orders supporting arbitral proceedings in areas including evidence, preservation or inspection of property, samples, sale of goods, interim injunctions and receivers. The Act distinguishes urgency from non-urgent applications and respects the tribunal's ability to act. Court assistance should fill a practical gap, not displace the tribunal.

The 2025 reforms clarify the court's ability to make orders against third parties in appropriate cases, while preserving appeal protections. Applications may include freezing or proprietary relief, evidence preservation and orders needed before the tribunal can act effectively. The applicant must satisfy the underlying test for the particular remedy, including any full-disclosure and cross-undertaking requirements.

Witnesses, evidence and preliminary points of law

Sections 43 and 44 can assist with witness attendance and evidence. The tribunal's permission or the agreement of the parties may be required depending on the power invoked. International cases also require attention to service, compulsion abroad, letters of request, privilege and data restrictions.

Section 45 permits the court to determine a preliminary point of English law in limited circumstances, subject to party agreement or tribunal permission and statutory safeguards. It is not a general appeal during the arbitration; the question must materially affect rights and the court must be satisfied that determination is appropriate.

Peremptory orders and emergency arbitrators

Under section 42, the court may enforce a tribunal's peremptory order where the statutory conditions are met. The application should establish the order, non-compliance, jurisdiction and why court enforcement is appropriate. In LLC EuroChem North-West-2 v Tecnimont SpA [2026] EWCA Civ 5, the Court of Appeal considered enforcement of a peremptory anti-suit order.

The 2025 Act also supports enforcement of peremptory orders made by emergency arbitrators and permits court support where an emergency arbitrator's order is not complied with. The institutional rules, appointment and exact nature of the order remain important.

Read Case Digest No. 25: section 42 and anti-suit orders →

Jurisdiction challenges under section 67

A party may challenge an award on the ground that the tribunal lacked substantive jurisdiction. Objections should ordinarily be taken before the tribunal in time; section 73 can prevent a party reserving an objection while participating. The 2025 reforms limit the extent to which a section 67 challenge repeats evidence and arguments already considered by the tribunal, subject to rules and interests-of-justice safeguards.

Deadlines are short and service requirements matter. A party considering challenge should secure the award, arbitration agreement, procedural orders and record of the jurisdiction objection immediately.

Serious irregularity and appeals on law

Section 68 addresses serious irregularity affecting the tribunal, proceedings or award which has caused or will cause substantial injustice. It is a high threshold concerned with process, not a disguised appeal on fact or law. The statutory categories and alleged injustice must be identified precisely.

Section 69 permits an appeal on a question of English law only where the parties have not excluded it and the statutory permission requirements are met. Many institutional rules exclude section 69. Applications under sections 67, 68 and 69 are subject to strict time limits, normally 28 days, and the court expects procedural discipline.

Enforcing an award

Section 66 allows an award to be enforced in the same manner as a judgment or order with permission of the court. Foreign awards may also fall within the New York Convention regime in sections 100 to 104. The creditor must prove the award and arbitration agreement in the required form, address translations and service, and identify assets against which execution will operate.

Resistance to New York Convention enforcement is confined to recognised grounds, including incapacity, invalidity, lack of proper notice, excess of submission, procedural defects, award not yet binding or set aside, non-arbitrability and public policy. The court does not ordinarily reopen the merits.

Confidentiality and publication

Arbitration is generally private, but confidentiality depends on the agreement, rules, applicable law and circumstances. Court applications can create a public judgment even where the underlying arbitration is confidential. Parties should consider anonymisation, private hearings and limits on evidence placed before the court, but none is automatic.

This website identifies Alexander's arbitration work only at a high level. It does not publish party identities, references, pleadings, evidence, procedural materials, awards or private judgments.

Alexander's relevant experience

Alexander acts as counsel in domestic and international arbitration and in related Commercial Court and Chancery work. His experience includes institutional and ad hoc proceedings, English-seated arbitration, shareholder, fraud, financial and cross-border disputes, and applications concerning arbitration agreements, interim measures and enforcement.

He is presently instructed by Pinsent Masons and a Dubai law firm as junior counsel in a silk-led ICC arbitration seated in London and governed by English law concerning allegations of fraud, conspiracy, misrepresentation and undue influence, with claims valued at US$100 million+. Only that limited description is published. Decisions in the digest library are legal analysis and do not imply that Alexander appeared in those cases.

Explore commercial and international arbitration expertise · View the appropriately limited current-instruction summary

Routes to instruction

Solicitors, businesses, in-house teams and overseas lawyers may instruct Alexander through Enterprise Chambers in London, Leeds and Bristol. Arbitration work is commonly conducted with solicitors and local or foreign counsel. Public Access enquiries are considered only where the proposed work is suitable for that route.

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