Sumukan Ltd v Commonwealth Secretariat [2007] EWCA Civ 243, [2007] All ER (D) 341 (Mar)
(i) The Court of Appeal has jurisdiction to consider an appeal from the High Court about the existence of an agreement excluding the right of appeal under the Arbitration Act 1996 (AA 1996), s 69(1). There is a distinction between those cases where the court is assisting or overseeing the
arbitration process and those cases where the question is whether or not the jurisdiction of the court has been excluded. In the context of s 69, there is a distinction between a decision about whether or not the parties have agreed to exclude the court and—if they have not—the decision about whether or not to grant or refuse permission to appeal. Until the court has decided whether or not there is an exclusion agreement, it does not engage on the considerations relevant to the question whether or not permission to appeal should be refused or granted.
(ii) As a matter of domestic law, a contract might incorporate by reference an exclusion agreement limiting the
