EU rules have failed to improve arbitration, says senior judge

Lord Justice Dyson is Master of the Rolls and head of civil justice. He was born in Leeds and educated at Leeds Grammar School. He returns to the city on Friday, October 11 to speak at a biennial event at Leeds Civic Hall called the Mustill Lecture.

The event is organised by The North East Branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. The NEB is active in promoting an alternative to court litigation in the form of adjudication and mediation. In a preview of the content of his speech shown to the Yorkshire Post, Lord Dyson writes that Brussels has missed out on a chance to improve arbitration across member states.

The title of his lecture is ‘Arbitration and the recast Brussels Regulation on jurisdiction: a lost opportunity’.

Lord Dyson will tell delegates that many commercial contracts contain arbitration clauses that have a European dimension in that they are made between parties from different member states. 

He will explain that “Questions of the validity of arbitration agreements frequently arise, as do questions as to whether a dispute should be resolved in accordance with the arbitration agreement or whether they may be resolved in the courts of one or more member states. 

“A further question may be: in which member state can an award or judgment be enforced?” 

Arbitration was excluded from the 1968 Brussels Convention on Jurisdiction and its successor Regulation 44/2001 on jurisdiction. 

Lord Dyson says that, as a consequence, it has been possible for contracting parties to frustrate the arbitral process by issuing “torpedo” proceedings in the courts of a member state.

“As a result, a party may be faced with the prospect of parallel proceedings in which the same issues are determined by an arbitral tribunal and a court. 

“In this way, it has been possible to undermine the much-vaunted benefits of arbitration, namely speed, efficiency and cost. The Regulation was revised in 2012. The revision afforded the EU an opportunity to remedy the existing defects and eliminate or at least reduce the scope for abuse” 

Also at the lecture will be Paul Darling QC, head of Keating Chambers, London, who is introducing Lord Dyson.

Rod Appleyard, chairman of the North East Branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, said: “We are very proud to have as guest Lord Dyson Master of the Rolls and Paul Darling QC, both of whom are Yorkshire men of great note in the legal landscape.

“The branch committee have worked exceedingly hard to bring what is recognised as a flagship event to Leeds in such a splendid environment as the Civic Hall.

“On the day, the proceedings will be started by a brief welcome by the Lord Mayor of Leeds accompanied by the Lady Mayoress and the Leeds Mayors Office Sergeant at Arms.

“All in all, both for the legal services of Leeds and the North of England, this is a momentous event and opportunity to hear the Master of the Rolls speak.”

The NEB is the initial creator of a low-cost, fixed-price arbitration for small claims in the form of the Yorkshire Arbitration Scheme.

The Biennial Mustill Lecture is on October 11 at Leeds Civic Hall from 8.30am-noon.