Arbitration - Scottish Construction Contracts - page 385

Table 17.2 ( continued )

Default
Rule
Number

SubjectMatteroftheDefaultRule

Rule 66 Awards of recoverable Arbitration expenses

Rule 69 Challenging an award in Court; legal error appeal

Rule 78 Consideration where Arbitrator judged not to be impartial and

independent

Rule 80 Death of party

Rule 81 Unfair treatment by Arbitrator

Rule 83 Formal communications

Rule 84 Periods of time

17.2.7 Section 10 - Suspension of Legal Proceedings

Section 10 deals with the legal position in connection with the sisting (suspending)
of legal proceedings for arbitration where the parties have agreed that their disputes
aretobereferredtoarbitration.
The 2010 Act provides that the Court must , on an application by a party to the
proceedings concerning any matter under dispute, sist those proceedings insofar as
they concern that matter if:

(a) an arbitration agreement provides that a dispute on the matter is to be resolved
by arbitration (immediately or after the exhaustion of other dispute resolution
procedures);
(b) the applicant is a party to the arbitration agreement (or is claiming through or
under such a party);
(c) notice of the application has been given to the other parties to the legal pro-
ceedings;
(d) the applicant has not taken any step in the legal proceedings to answer any
substantive claim against the applicant or otherwise acted since bringing the
legal proceedings in the manner indicating a desire to have the dispute resolved
by legal proceedings rather than by arbitration; and
(e) nothing has caused the Court to be satisfied that the arbitration agreement con-
cerned is void, inoperative or incapable of being performed.

Any provision in an arbitration agreement which prevents the bringing of legal
proceedings is void in relation to any proceedings which the Court refuses to sist.
This does not apply to statutory arbitrations.
Section 10 applies regardless of whether the arbitration concerned is seated in
Scotland.