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This article looks at the key legal and practical considerations surrounding default, liability and remedies in relation to shipbuilding contracts in United Kingdom (England & Wales).
Introduction
When parties agree in a contract that any disputes arising from that contract will be referred to arbitration, they hope that any tribunal appointed will be free of bias and approach the matter fairly. One of the long-running debates, particularly in specialist fields (eg, the London Maritime Arbitrator s Association (LMAA – for maritime disputes) and The Grain and Feed Trade Association (GAFTA – for commodity disputes)), where there has traditionally been a limited pool of arbitrators, is to what extent arbitrators must disclose previous relationships with the parties to an arbitration or their lawyers.
In a recent Supreme Court judgment, the court examined the requirement that an arbitrator must disclose related or linked appointments.(1) This decision is likely to fundamentally change the way in which shipowners, charterers and traders approach the appointment of arbitrators in the future.