Arbitration in Scotland

Arbitration has long played an important role in settling disputes in Scotland and as a result, Scotland has its own body of highly developed arbitration law.

On 7 June 2010, all provisions of the Arbitration (Scotland) Act 2010 came into force. The Act brings Scotland into the forefront of modern arbitral law and practice. The Act represents the most significant development in the history of the Scots Law on Arbitration and one of the most significant development in Scots Commercial Law in recent times.

The Scottish courts have always recognised the right of parties to agree to exclude the jurisdiction of the courts to inquire into the merits of their disputes and instead to refer any disputes to arbitration. This fundamental doctrine of Scots arbitration law was never more succinctly or better put than by the eminent judge Lord Dunedin in 1922.

"...the right...to apply or not to apply the arbitration clause in its discretion never was the right of the court in Scotland. If the parties have contracted to arbitrate, to arbitration they must go."

The Scottish courts though remain free to pronounce a judgement in conformity with the arbitrator's award. Equally, should the arbitration from any cause prove abortive, the full jurisdiction of the court will revive, to the effect of enabling the court to hear and determine the dispute on its merits.

Of course this is just a taste of the favourable background to conducting arbitration in Scotland. Why not have a look at The Scottish Arbitration Rules which form Schedule 1 to the Arbitration (Scotland) Act 2010 to see what detailed framework is available to those conducting arbitrations in Scotland.

The Branch has also developed its own Scottish Short Form Rules. These sit alongside the Arbitration (Scotland) Act 2010, and were created to assist with claims under £25,000. Notwithstanding this suggested cap, parties can of course also agree these rules apply where the claim, or counterclaim, exceeds £25,000. A copy of the Scottish Short Form Rules can be found at the link below.

Scottish Short Form Arbitration Rules 2012