OVERVIEW
The English statutory regime for appeals against arbitration awards on questions of law under s.69 of the Arbitration Act 1996, as is well known, applies a two stage process: (i) the application of permission to appeal and, (ii), if permission is granted the appeal itself.
Section 69(3) sets out the matters on which the Court is required to be satisfied as pre-conditions for granting permission to appeal. Where a party unsuccessfully resists permission on the basis that some or all of the requirements are not met, can it nevertheless reargue the point or points all over again on the appeal proper?
And where one of those matters is: was the question of law “one which the Tribunal was asked to determine” (section 69(3)(b)), is the position different? How does the Court identify “the question” when granting permission?
The Commercial Court gave important guidance on these issues in CVLC Three Carrier Corp v Arab Maritime Petroleum Transport Company [2021] EWHC 551 (Comm), in allowing an appeal under section 69 on an important guarantee issue.