ABSTRACT

This chapter describes the English court’s jurisdiction of the 1996 Act to grant stays of English court proceedings and also its inherent jurisdiction to stay such proceedings under powers arising outside statutory rules. The question of whether the proceedings are brought in respect of a matter agreed to be arbitrated raises jurisdictional issues as to the existence, enforceability and scope of the arbitration clause. Arbitration clauses often provide for “disputes” or “differences” arising out of the contract to be referred to arbitration. An agreement is “incapable of being performed” if it can no longer be performed even if both parties were ready, for example if the chosen tribunal has refused to accept jurisdiction. The most common issues on a stay application are the existence, enforceability and scope of the arbitration agreement relied upon in seeking the stay. The application for a stay is begun by issuing an application notice in the court in which the legal proceedings are pending.