In Defence of s 69 of the English Arbitration Act 1996

Abstract

This paper will investigate whether s 69 of the English Arbitration Act 1996 has undermined the purpose of the Act, which is to consolidate and improve the law relating to arbitration by enhancing party autonomy and limiting judicial intervention by enforcing the finality of arbitral awards. The paper will discuss the problems associated with s 69 in the light of safeguards provided for in the Act. It will then analyse and summarise the rulings of cases involving s 69 in United Kingdom. The paper will then focus on how arbitration operates in New Zealand, by drawing a comparison with the arbitration framework of United Kingdom.