Contractual arbitration provisions in Scotland will, from 7 June 2010, be governed by the new Arbitration (Scotland) Act 2010 ("the Act") and the integrated Scottish Arbitration Rules, following the issue of the Commencement Order for the Act made on 13 May 2010.
The Act will not, save for a minor exception, come into force for statutory arbitrations until a later date.
There are certain transitional arrangements which have been put in place to ease the passage of this Act, the most significant of which are as follows:
- the Act does not apply to arbitrations or legal proceedings relating to arbitrations started before 7 June 2010;
- the Act otherwise applies to all arbitration agreements irrespective of when they were made. In other words, even if a contract with an arbitration clause was entered into before 7 June 2010, any arbitration after that date will be governed by the Act. The exception is that parties can agree that arbitrations are not to be governed by the Act where the arbitration agreement (or the contract containing the arbitration clause) was entered into prior to 7 June 2010.
The first list of bodies authorised to act as arbitral appointments referees (bodies entitled to appoint arbitrators) for the purposes of the Scottish Arbitration Rules has also been issued. As at 7 June 2010 these bodies will be:
- Agricultural Industries Confederation Limited
- Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
- Dean of the Faculty of Advocates
- Institution of Civil Engineers
- Law Society of Scotland
- Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland
- Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
- Scottish Agricultural Arbiters and Valuers Association
In addition, new rules of procedure have been introduced in the Court of Session which will regulate applications, appeals and the enforcement of arbitral awards arising from the Act. These rules also come into force on 7 June 2010.
Disclaimer
The material contained in this article is of the nature of general comment only and does not give advice on any particular matter. Recipients should not act on the basis of the information in this e-update without taking appropriate professional advice upon their own particular circumstances.
