11 Injunctions to Restrain Arbitration Proceedings

Subject(s):

Injunctions to arbitration restrain proceedings — Injunctions to restrain proceedings in England and Wales

This chapter discusses injunction to restrain arbitration proceedings. It is legitimate, from an international perspective, for the courts of the seat of the arbitration to intervene to stop or suspend the arbitration in certain circumstances. The court has a general power under section 37(1) of the Senior Courts Act 1981 to grant an anti-arbitration injunction to restrain the commencement or pursuit of arbitration proceedings if (a) the arbitral proceedings are an infringement of a legal or equitable right of the injunction claimant; or (b) if the arbitration proceedings are vexatious or oppressive or unconscionable. It is probably also the case that the scope of this power is co-extensive with the power to grant anti-suit injunctions in general, and so the anti-arbitration injunction can also be granted if it is in the ‘interests of justice to do so’; although the primary situations where this will be satisfied is where (a) or (b) apply.