THE SEAT OF THE ARBITRATION

In England the ‘juridical seat of the arbitration’ is determined as follows:

If the seat is England and Wales, the provisions of Part 1 of the Arbitration Act 1996 (England and Wales) apply.

Even if the seat is not England and Wales or ‘no seat has been designated or determined’ the Arbitration Act 1996 (England and Wales) will apply to the following matters: (i) the grant of a stay of legal proceedings; (ii) enforcement of an award; (iii) unless this is ‘inappropriate’, securing attendance of witnesses; (iv) unless this is ‘inappropriate’, various supportive powers concerning, for example, taking of evidence, preservation of evidence, etc; (v) the court can exercise any of the powers contained within Part 1 of the Arbitration Act 1996 (England and Wales) if ‘by reason of a connection with England and Wales… the court is satisfied that it is appropriate to do so’; (vi) the provision on the ‘separability’ of the arbitration agreement (9.07 ff); and (vii) the provision on the death of a party. Clarke J in ABB Lummus Global Ltd v. Keppel Fels Ltd (1999) considered the structure of these provisions of the Arbitration Act 1996 (England and Wales).

CHANGE OF SEAT

The English Arbitration Act 1996 does not appear to contain explicit guidance on whether the seat can be changed from that which was originally designated or determined. However, Clarke J in ABB Lummus Global Ltd v. Keppel Fels Ltd (1999) and Aikens J in Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC v. Paymentech Merchant Services Inc (2001) accepted that the parties can by agreement vary the seat.