Arbitration vs litigation...never the twain shall meet?

• The court’s involvement in the arbitral process and the effect of arbitration on the courts.

Arbitration is a private dispute resolution process which effectively involves the parties to the arbitration agreement contracting out of the rights which they would otherwise have to submit their disputes for resolution by a national court.

In that sense, the parties to an arbitration agreement make a choice which excludes the court. ‘Arbitration-friendly’ jurisdictions recognise and respect the parties’ right to make that choice. Yet, even as, say, the English court therefore stays proceedings brought in respect of a matter which is subject to an arbitration agreement (under s 9 of the Arbitration Act 1996 (AA 1996)) or grants an injunction restraining a party’s pursuit of such proceedings in a foreign court, it demonstrates how integral the court can be (and the arbitration law which it applies is) to the successful fulfilment