To maintain London’s position as a leading centre for international arbitration, it is critical that the English courts maintain the balance between supporting and supplanting the arbitral process. The judgment of Justice Tomlinson in B v A [2010] is a landmark in that process and a triumph for the finality of English arbitral awards.
The dispute, which arose out of an agreement governed by Spanish law, was referred to International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitration before three arbitrators in London. An award was made by a majority of the tribunal in favour of party A. One of the arbitrators issued a dissenting opinion which criticised the award, alleging that the majority had ignored Spanish law and had decided the dispute ex aequo et bono.
