ARBITRATION               [CAP. 387.       1
CHAPTER 387
ARBITRATION ACT
To encourage and facilitate the settlement of disputes through
arbitration in Malta, to establish the Malta Arbitration Centre as a centrefor domestic arbitration and international commercial arbitration, to makeprovisions regulating the conduct of arbitration proceedings and therecognition and enforcement of certain arbitral awards.
23 February, 1998;
23 March, 2000;
1st August, 2000
ACT II of 1996 , as amended by Acts XVIII of 1999  and XXXI of
2002 ; Legal Notice 304 of 2004 ; Acts IX and XIII  of 2004; Legal
Notices 420 of 2004 , and 7 and 279 of 2005; Act XXII of 2005 ; Legal
Notices 165 and 166 of 2006, and 425 of 2007 ; Act IX of 2010 ; Legal
Notices 218 and 244 of 2012, and 149 of 2015 ;  Act XXX of 2015  and
Act XXXVI of 2018 and VIII of 2020 .
PART I
 Preliminary
Short title. 1. The short title of this Act is the Arbitration Act.
Interpretation.
Amended by:
XVIII.1999.2.2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires -
"arbitration agreement" means an agreement as defined in Articl e
7 of the Model Law:
Provided that:
(a) the provisions of article 7 of the Model Law shall be
deemed to have been complied with if the arbitrationagreement is contained in a document transmitted fromone party to the other party or by a third party to bothparties, and if no objection was raised thereto withinthirty days of the receipt of the document;
(b) the reference in a written contract to a document
containing an arbitration clause constitutes anarbitration agreement provided that the reference issuch as to make that clause part of the contract;
(c) an arbitration agreement is also concluded by the
issuance of a bill of lading, if the latter contains anexpress reference to an arbitration clause in a charterparty; 
"arbitral tribunal" means a sole arbitrator or a number of
arbitrators;
"Board" means the Board of Governors of the Centre;"Centre" means the Malta Arbitration Centre established by
article 3;
"chairman" means the chairman of the Board;"financial period" means a period of five years commencing on
 2        CAP. 387. ]                        ARBITRATION
the first January of one year and ending on the thirty first da y of
December of the fifth year thereafter; provided that the firstfinancial period of the Centre shall be the period commencing w ith
the coming into force of Part III of this Act and ending on the  31st
day of December of the year next following that on which the sa id
Part III shall have come into force;
"Minister" means the Minister responsible for justice;"Model Law" means the Model Law on International
Commercial Arbitration adopted on June 21, 1985 by the UnitedNations Commission on International Trade Law reproduced in theFirst Schedule to this Act;
"registrar" means the registrar of the Centre.
PART II
Establishment and Functions of the Centre
Establishment of 
the Arbitration Centre. 3.(1) A centre, to be known as the Malta Arbitration Centre,
is hereby established for the purposes and with the functions s et out
by this Act.
(2) The Centre shall be a body corporate having a distinct legal
personality and, subject to the provisions of this Act, shall b e
capable of entering into contracts, of acquiring, holding anddisposing of any kind of property for the purposes of its funct ions,
of suing and of being sued, and of doing all such things andentering into all such transactions as are incidental or conduc ive to
the exercise or performance of its functions under this Act.
(3) Any document purporting to be an instrument made or
issued by the Centre and signed by the chairman or such othermember of the Board, officer or employee of the Centre as may b e
set out in a notice issued by the chairman and published in theGazette, shall be received in evid ence and shall, until the con trary
is proved, be deemed to be an instrument made or issued by theCentre.
Establishment and 
composition of Board.
Amended by:
XVIII.1999.3;XXXI. 2002.234;XXII. 2005.91;IX. 2010.3.4.(1) There shall be a Board which shall be responsible for
the policy and general administration of the affairs and busine ss of
the Centre.
(2) The Board shall consist of not less than three and not more
than five members, appointed by the President of Malta acting o n
the advice of the Prime Minister, one of whom shall be designat ed
by the Prime Minister as chairman. The Prime Minister shall als o
designate another member as deputy chairman and such membershall have all the powers and perform all the functions of thechairman during his absence, or until a new chairman has beenappointed following the resignation, termination of appointment , or
death of the chairman.
(3) The Prime Minister shall select the members of the Board
from among persons who appear to him to be qualified to be soselected.
                 ARBITRATION               [CAP. 387.       3
(4) In the exercise of their functions under this Act all the
members of the Board shall exercise their functions in theirindividual judgment and shall not be subject to the direction o r
control of any other person or authority.
Qualifications of 
chairman and deputy. 5. A person shall not be qualified to be appointed chairman or
deputy chairman of the Board unless he has practised as anadvocate in Malta for a period or periods amounting in theaggregate to not less than twelve years.
Duration of 
appointment of the Board.
Amended by:
XVIII.1999.4;IX. 2010.4. 6.(1) Subject to the provisions of articles 4, 7 and 9, the
members of the Board shall hold office for a six year period; a nd a
member shall, on ceasing to be a member, be eligible for re-appointment:
Provided that the Prime Minister may at any time, on the
recommendation of the Commission for the Administration ofJustice established under article 101A of the Constitution of M alta,
terminate the appointment of a member of the Board if in hisopinion, confirmed by the recommendation of the said Commissionas aforesaid, such member is unfit to continue in office or hasbecome incapable of properly performing his duties as member ofthe Board, and the said Commission is hereby vested with thefunction and power to make a recommendation to the Minister asaforesaid.
(2) The members of the Board shall be entitled to such
remuneration and allowances as the Prime Minister may from timeto time determine.
Disqualification 
from or being a member of the Board.7. A person shall be disqualified for appointment to, or from
remaining, a member of the Board if he - 
(a) is legally incapacitated; or
(b) has been adjudged bankrupt under the law of any
country or has made a composition or arrangementwith his creditors; or
(c) has been convicted of a crime affecting public trust, or
theft or fraud; or
(d) save as provided in article 4(3), is a public officer; or
(e) has any financial or other interest in any enterprise or
activity which is likely to affect prejudicially thedischarge of his functions as a member of the Board.
Resignations.
Amended by:
IX. 2010.5.8.(1) Any member of the Board may resign his office by
letter addressed to the Prime Minister.
(2) The appointment of any person as member of the Board,
and the termination of office or resignation of any such person ,
shall be notified in the Gazette.
Registrar and other 
employees of the Centre.
Amended by:
XVIII.1999.5;XXII. 2005.92.9.(1) The Centre shall have a registrar, who shall also be the
secretary of the Board. In connection with his functions under this
Act, the registrar shall have power to administer oaths, includ ing,
without prejudice to the generality of the aforesaid, the power  to
 4        CAP. 387. ]                        ARBITRATION
administer oaths of office that may be required to be taken by
arbitrators or any other person involved in arbitration proceed ings
under any rule made under this Act:
Provided that the registrar may exercise any one or more of
his functions under this Act or under rules made thereunder bot h
directly and through a person who is authorised for such purpos e by
the Board.
(2) Subject to the provisions of the Constitution and of any
other enactment applicable thereto, the registrar and the otheremployees of the Centre shall be appointed by the Board undersuch terms and conditions as the said Board shall deem appropri ate.
(3) The legal representation of the Centre shall be vested in th e
registrar, or any other person so authorised by the Board.
(4) The registrar shall also perform any function that may be
delegated to him in writing by the Board from time to time.
Functions of the 
Centre.
Amended by:
XVIII. 1999.6;IX. 2010.6.10. (1) The functions of the Centre shall be:
(i)  ( a) to promote Malta as a centre for international
commercial arbitration;
(b) to provide for the conduct of international
arbitration in Malta;
(c) to encourage domestic arbitration as a means of
settling disputes;
(d) to provide the necessary facilities for the
conduct of arbitration;
(e) to advise the Government on any of the matters
mentioned in the foregoing sub-paragraphs ofthis paragraph;
(f) to perform such other functions assigned to it by
this or any other law; and
(g) to perform any other function supplementary or
ancillary to the above.
(ii) Subject to the other provisions of this Act, the Centre
shall have power, exercisable through its Board, tomake rules to be published in the Gazette providingfor:
(a) procedure for arbitrations;
(b) the manner and requirements (including any fees
payable therefor) for registration of anydocument under this Act;
(c) guidelines and optional models or specimens for
the drawing up of arbitration clauses andagreements; and 
(d) any other matter in connection with which rules
may be made under any provision of this Act.
(2) The Centre may, from time to time, draw up panels of
arbitrators for domestic arbitration and panels of arbitrators for
international commercial arbitration:
                 ARBITRATION               [CAP. 387.       5
Provided however that a person may be included in more
than one panel.
(3) Domestic arbitration panels may be appointed on matters
related to commerce, insurance, traffic collisions, buildingconstruction, the maritime sector and such other fields as theCentre may deem expedient from time to time. The panels shall b e
composed of persons who in the opinion of the Centre are qualif ied
to carry out the duties and functions of arbitrators in a parti cular
field of expertise.
(4) The Centre shall establish an International Arbitral
Advisory Committee, to be presided by the chairman of the Centr e,
which shall have the functions to advise the Centre on any matt er
relating to international commercial arbitration and to recomme nd
to the Centre persons, who in its opinion, are qualified to car ry out
the duties and functions of arbitrators in international commer cial
arbitrations.
(5) The Centre shall, acting on the recommendation of the
International Arbitral Advisory Committee, appoint panels ofarbitrators for international commercial arbitration on matters  such
as international trade, commerce, insurance, investment and themaritime sector.
(6) ( a) A person who, in the opinion of the Centre, does not
fulfil his duties or functions in arbitration proceedingsshall be admonished by the Registrar in order to fulfilthose duties or functions, and if that person in theopinion of the Centre persists in not fulfilling his saidduties or functions the Centre shall refer the case to aboard to be composed of three arbitrators which shall,after considering the case, decide whether there isfailure to fulfil duties or functions in arbitrationproceedings and, where it finds that there is suchfailure, the board shall issue such directives as it maydeem appropriate so that the said person will fulfil hissaid duties or functions. It the said person furtherpersists in not fulfilling his duties or functions inarbitration proceedings the board so appointed shall,after considering the case, recommend to the Centrethat the said person be either removed from thearbitration proceedings in which he persisted in failingto fulfil his duties or functions or be removed from thegroup of arbitrators.
(b) A person may at any time resign by letter addressed to
the Registrar.
(c) A removal or resignation as referred to in paragraphs
(a) and ( b) shall not be deemed to include the removal
or resignation of the person concerned from anyarbitration proceedings in which he may have alreadybeen appointed before his removal or resignationexcept as may be expressly provided in a decision ofthe Centre taken upon the recommendation of theboard referred to in paragraph ( a) or in the letter of
 6        CAP. 387. ]                        ARBITRATION
resignation itself.
(7) For the purpose of encouraging settlement of a dispute, the
Centre may, with the agreement of the parties and in accordancewith rules made by the Centre under this Act, employ mediation,conciliation or other procedures at any time before or during t he
arbitration proceedings.
PART III
Finances
Estimates of the 
Centre. 11. (1) The Centre shall cause to be prepared in every
financial period, and shall not later than six months before th e end
of each financial period adopt, estimates of the income andexpenditure of the Centre for the next following financial peri od.
(2) The estimates shall be made out in such form and shall
contain such information and such comparisons with previousfinancial periods as the Minister may direct. The estimates sha ll
take into account such government contribution, if any, to therevenues of the Centre as the Minister may indicate to the Cent re
that he will recommend to the House of Representatives for thefinancial period in consideration, in accordance with article 1 3.
(3) A copy of the estimates of the Centre shall upon their
adoption by the Centre, be sent forthwith by the Board to theMinister.
Revenue of the 
Centre.
Amended by:
VIII.2020.68.12. (1) The revenues of the Centre shall consist of the fees
charged for the services provided by it under this Act and of a ny
government contribution made in accordance with article 13.
(2) The Minister, after consultation with the Centre, may
establish by regulations the fees to be charged by the Centre f or any
services, facilities or any other matter provided by it in acco rdance
with this Act or in pursuance of the exercise of its functions under
this Act.
(3) The Centre shall be exempted from any liability for the
payment of income tax and duty on documents under any law in fo rce
at that time.
Government 
contribution.
Amended by:
XVIII. 1999.7;L.N. 425 of 2007.13. (1) The Minister may, after consultation with the Centre
and with any other person or authority and with the concurrence  of
the Minister responsible for finance, indicate in writing to th e
Centre the amount of government contribution to be made to theCentre and to be included in its estimates for the next financi al
period. The indication made by the Minister as aforesaid shall be
attached to the estimates of the Centre to be forwarded to theMinister.
(2) Upon the approval of the estimates with or without
amendments as provided in this Act, the sum approved in theestimates as the government contribution shall be paid to the C entre
out of the Consolidated Fund without any further authority othe r
than this Act.
                 ARBITRATION               [CAP. 387.       7
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of subarticles (1) and (2)
the government contribution for the first financial period of t he
Centre shall be of a sum of four hundred and sixty-five thousan d
and eight hundred and seventy-four euro and sixty-eight cents(465,874.68)and such sum shall be paid to the Centre out of theConsolidated Fund without any further authority other than thissubarticle.
(4) Any excess of revenue over the expenditure of the Centre
shall, subject to such directives as the Minister, after consul tation
with the Minister responsible for finance, may from time to tim e
give, be applied by the Centre to the formation of reserve fund s to
be used for the purposes of the Centre; and, without prejudice to the
generality of the powers given to the Minister by this subartic le,
any direction given by the Minister as aforesaid may order thetransfer to the Government, or the application in such manner a s
may be specified in the direction, of any part of such revenues . 
PART IV
Domestic Arbitration
Domestic 
arbitration.
Amended by:
XVIII.1999.8.14. A domestic arbitration agreement is an arbitration
agreement which does not fall under Part V of this Act, and inparticular under Article 1(3) of the Model Law.
Procedure in 
domestic arbitration.
Amended by:
XVIII.1999.9;XXXI. 2002.235;IX. 2004.22;
IX. 2010.7;
L.N. 218 of 2012. 15. (1) In the case of a domestic arbitration agreement, falling
under article 14, disputes shall be settled in accordance with the
provisions of this Part, subject to such modification as ( a) the
parties may agree upon in writing, and ( b) may be permitted by law.
(2) For the purpose of this Act, a dispute shall include any
controversy or claim arising out of or relating to the agreemen t, or
the breach, termination or invalidity thereof or failure to com ply
therewith.
Cap. 12. (3) Notwithstanding any provision of the Code of Organization
and Civil Procedure  if any party to an arbitration agreement, or any
person claiming through or under him, commences any legalproceedings in any court against any other party to the arbitra tion
agreement or any person claiming through or under him, in respe ct
of any matter agreed to be referred to arbitration, any party t o such
legal proceedings may at any time before delivering any pleadin gs
or taking other steps in the proceedings, apply to that court t o stay
the proceedings, and that court or a judge thereof, unless sati sfied
that the arbitration agreement has become inoperative or cannotproceed, shall make an order staying the proceedings. Anapplication may be made notwithstanding that the matter is to b e
referred to arbitration only after the exhaustion of other disp ute
resolution procedures.
(4) Where proceedings as are referred to in subarticle (3) have
been brought before a court, arb itral proceedings may be commen ced
or continued: provided that the arbitral tribunal shall not tak e any steps
in the arbitration until the Court decides on the application e xcept in
cases where failure to provide a remedy will result in irrepara ble harm
 8        CAP. 387. ]                        ARBITRATION
to any party to the arbitral proceedings. Upon the decision of the
Court, which shall be notified to the arbitral tribunal by the applicant,
the arbitral tribunal shall be bound by the decision of the Cou rt on the
issues dealt with in the application and shall act accordingly.
(5) Any matter being the subject of a dispute even after an
action thereanent has been brought before a court, shall, unles s
such matter is one referred to in subarticle (6), be capable ofsettlement by arbitration if all parties to the dispute agree.
(6) Disputes, concerning questions of personal civil status
including those relating to personal separation, divorce orannulment of marriage, are not capable of settlement by arbitra tion:
Provided that questions relating to the division of property
between spouses may be referred to arbitration subject to the a pproval
by the competent court of the arbitration agreement and of thearbitrator to be appointed.
(7) Any submission to arbitration of a dispute by an
administrator, agent or attorney shall not be valid unless -
(a) such person is authorised to submit disputes to
arbitration; and
(b) the submission refers to an issue which falls within the
powers of such person.
(8) Upon the filing of an application to stay proceedings in
terms of subarticle (3), any time limit for the filing of anystatement of defence or other response, whether arising at law or by
order of any court or tribunal or otherwise, shall be interrupt ed and
shall commence to run again from the date on which the applican t
is served with the decision of the Court to dismiss the applica tion,
and this irrespective of whether an appeal on such decision is filed
by any party.
Cap. 12. (9) The Board established under article 29 of the Code of
Organization and Civil Procedure may make rules concerning
applications to the Court under subarticle (3) and prescribe th e fees
to be paid on such applications.
(10) Any submission to arbitration of a dispute the subject
matter of which falls within the jurisdiction or competence of a
board, tribunal or other authority set up for the purpose by an y law
shall be valid and effective and the provisions of subarticle ( 3)
shall apply thereto mutatis mutandis ; provided that the provisions
of this subarticle shall not apply where the board, tribunal or  other
authority is one as is specified in article 75(1).
(11) In addition to those designated by other laws, the classes of
disputes referred to in the Fourth Schedule are subject to mand atory
arbitration and in such cases the parties shall be deemed to bebound by an arbitration agreement in relation to such disputes.
Cap. 12.(11A) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, all
parties to a mandatory arbitration shall, unless they have expr essly
agreed otherwise in writing, have a right of appeal from the ar biter
award both on points of law and on points of fact to the Court of
Appeal as constituted in terms of article 41(9) of the Code of
                 ARBITRATION               [CAP. 387.       9
Organization and Civil Procedure .
(12) The Centre shall have the power to issue rules in
accordance with article 10 relating to the procedures to be ado pted
in mandatory arbitrations.
(13) The Minister shall have the power by regulations to add,
remove or substitute and amend the classes of disputes referred  to
in the Fourth Schedule and the conditions applicable thereto. S uch
regulation may determine the conditions applicable in such case s,
including:
(i) the specific nature of the disputes;
(ii) the maximum monetary value of such disputes;
(iii) the remedies sought and awardable in relation to
such disputes; and
(iv) the manner in which an arbitrator or arbitrators
are to be appointed.
(14) Any rules or regulations referred to in the preceding sub-
articles shall come into force with effect from the date design ated
by the Minister and shall not affect any disputes at the time a lready
pending before any court or tribunal.
(15) Saving the grounds allowing for the press and the public to
be excluded from all or part of the proceedings provided for inparagraph 1 of Article 6 of the European Convention on HumanRights, the proceedings in a compulsory arbitration shall beconducted and the decision shall be delivered in public.
Arbitration clause 
in wills and trusts.
Added by:
XIII. 2004.109.15A. (1) It shall be lawful for a testator to insert an arbitration
clause in a will. In such event such clause shall be binding on  all
persons claiming under such will in relation to all disputes re lating
to the interpretation of such will, including any claim that su ch will
is not valid.
(2) It shall be lawful for a settlor of a trust to insert an
arbitration clause in a deed of trust and such clause shall be binding
on all trustees, protectors and any beneficiaries under the tru st in
relation to matters arising under or in relation to the trust.
Cap. 331.(3) In the cases referred to in the preceding subarticles, the
right of a party to seek directions of the Court of voluntaryjurisdiction in terms of the 
Trusts and Trustees Act shall not be
limited by any such clause and notwithstanding the provisions o f
this Act, the said Court shall not be bound to stay proceedings  in
terms of article 15(3) or otherwise, but shall enjoy a discreti on to
do so until such time as it determines that the matter is of acontentious nature, in which cas e it shall stay the proceedings  and
shall refer the parties to arbitration.
Arbitration clause 
in foundation statutes.
Added by:
XXXVI.2018.116.15B. (1) It shall be lawful for a founder to insert an arbitration
clause in a foundation statute when creating the foundation or by
subsequent amendment if he has the power to amend the statute. In
such event such clause shall be binding on all administrators,protectors, members of a supervisory council, and beneficiaries , if
any, under the foundation in relation to all matters arising un der or
 10        CAP. 387. ]                        ARBITRATION
in relation to the foundation. It shall not be lawful for the
administrators or other persons having the power to amend thestatute of a foundation to insert an arbitration clause by amen ding
its statute.
Cap. 16 .(2) The provisions of sub-article (1) shall not prejudice the ri ght
of a party to seek directions from the Civil Court (V oluntaryJurisdiction Section) in terms of the Second Schedule to the 
Civil
Code and the right of the party shall not be limited by any such cla use.
Notwithstanding the provisions of this Act, the said Court shal l not be
bound to stay proceedings in terms of article 15(3) or otherwis e, but
shall enjoy a discretion to do so until such time as it determi nes that
the matter is of a contentious nature, in which case it shall s tay the
proceedings and shall refer the parties to arbitration.
Notice and 
calculation of periods of time.
Amended by:
XVIII.1999.10.16. (1) For the purposes of this Part, any notice, including a
notification, communication or proposal, is deemed to have beenreceived and duly notified if it is physically delivered to theaddressee or if it is delivered at his habitual residence, plac e of
business or mailing address, or, if none of these can be found after
making reasonable enquiry, at the addressee’s last-known reside nce
or place of business. Notice shall be deemed to have been recei ved
on the day it is so delivered :
Provided that the Centre may by rules under this Act
provide for other modes of service and make provision relating to
when services is deemed to have been made.
(2) For the purposes of calculating a period of time under this
Part, such period shall begin to run on the day following the d ay
when a notice, notification, communication or proposal is recei ved.
If the last day of such period i s a public holiday or a non-wor king
day, the period is extended until the first working day whichfollows. Public holidays or non-working days occurring during t he
running of the period of time are included in calculating the p eriod.
Notice of 
arbitration.
Amended by:
XVIII.1999.11;XXXI. 2002.236.17. (1) The party initiating recourse to arbitration (hereinafter
called "the claimant") shall file with the registrar, a notice of
arbitration for registration by the Centre and for onwardtransmission to the other party (hereinafter called "therespondent"), and any procedures and any award pursuant theretoin any arbitration to which this Part refers, shall be null and  void
and unenforceable if the relative notice of arbitration shall n ot have
been filed with the Centre:
Provided that the nullity of the procedures shall not arise if,
having failed to file the notice of arbitration as contemplated  by
this article at the commencement of proceedings, any party file s the
notice at any time prior to the communication of the award inaccordance with article 44(6). In such event the Centre shallregister the notice of arbitration but shall have no further du ties in
that regard.
(2) Arbitral proceedings shall be deemed to commence on the
date on which the notice of arbitration is received by therespondent :
                 ARBITRATION               [CAP. 387.       11
Cap. 12.
Cap. 16.Provided that for the purposes of articles 843, 846, 849, 867
and 875 of the Code of Organization and Civil Procedure  and article
1357(2) of the Civil Code arbitral proceedings under this Part shall
be deemed to commence upon the filing of the notice of arbitrat ion
with the registrar.
(3) The notice of arbitration shall include the following:
(a) a demand that the dispute be referred to arbitration;
(b) the names and addresses of the parties;
(c) a reference to the arbitration clause or the separate
arbitration agreement that is invoked;
(d) a reference to the contract out of which, or the defined
legal relationship in respect to which, the disputearises;
(e) the general nature of the claim and an indication of the
amount involved, if any;
(f) the relief or remedy sought; and
(g) a proposal as to the number of arbitrators if the parties
have not previously agreed thereon.
(4) The notice of arbitration may also include:
(a) the proposals for the appointment of a sole arbitrator;
(b) the notification of the appointment of an arbitrator
referred to in article 21; and
(c) the statement of claim referred to in article 29.
Representation and 
assistance.18. (1) Subject to the provisions of subarticle (2), the parties
may be represented or assisted by persons of their choice. Thenames and addresses of such persons must be communicated inwriting to the other party; such communication must specifywhether the appointment is being made for purposes ofrepresentation or assistance.
(2) A legal practitioner or a person not qualified under the
Laws of Malta may act on behalf of a party to an arbitralproceeding to which this Act applies, including appearing befor e
the arbitral tribunal, and he shall not thereby be taken to hav e
breached any law of Malta regulating the practice of the legalprofession.
Number of 
arbitrators.
Amended by:
L.N. 425 of 2007. 19.  If the parties have not previously agreed on the number of
arbitrators, and if within fifteen days after the receipt by th e
respondent of the notice of arbitration, the parties have not a greed
that there shall be only one arbitrator, three arbitrators shal l be
appointed:
Provided however that if the disputed amount is under
eleven thousand and six hundred and forty-six euro and eighty-seven cents (11,646.87), there shall be a sole arbitrator.
Appointment of 
arbitrators.
Amended by:
IX. 2010.8. 20. (1) If a sole arbitrator is to be appointed, either party may
propose to the other the names of one or more persons, one ofwhom may serve as the sole arbitrator.
 12        CAP. 387. ]                        ARBITRATION
(2) If within thirty days after receipt by a party of a proposal
made in accordance with subarticle (1), the parties have notreached agreement on the choice of a sole arbitrator, the solearbitrator shall be appointed by the chairman.
(3) The chairman shall, at the request of one of the parties,
appoint the sole arbitrator as promptly as possible and for thi s
purpose he shall call a meeting between the parties for the pur pose
of attempting to select the arbitrator together with the partie s and
after he has called the said meeting the chairman shall proceed  to
appoint the sole arbitrator and his decision shall be final andbinding.
(4) In making the appointment, the chairman shall have regard
to such considerations as are likely to secure the appointment of an
independent and impartial arbitrator and to the members of theDomestic Arbitration Panels established under article 10(2).
(5) An arbitrator shall not be liable in damages for negligence
in anything done or omitted to be done by him as arbitrator:
Provided that an arbitrator shall be liable in respect of
anything wilfully done or omitted to be done by him as arbitrat or
where his action or omission is attributable to malice or fraud  on
his part. 
Presiding 
arbitrator. 21. (1) If three arbitrators are to be appointed, each party shall
appoint one arbitrator. The two arbitrators thus appointed shal l
choose the third arbitrator who will act as the presiding arbit rator
of the arbitral tribunal.
(2) If within thirty days after the receipt of a party’s
notification of the appointment of an arbitrator, the other par ty has
not notified the first party of the arbitrator he has appointed , the
first party may request the chairman to appoint the secondarbitrator.
(3) If within thirty days after the appointment of the second
arbitrator, the two arbitrators have not agreed on the choice o f the
presiding arbitrator, the presiding arbitrator shall be appoint ed by
the chairman.
(4) The chairman shall apply the provisions of article 20,
mutatis mutandis , in any appointment made under the provisions of
subarticles (2) or (3).
Multiple parties.
Added by:
XVIII.1999.12.21A (1) Where there are multiple parties, whether as claimant
or as respondent, the multiple claimants, jointly, and the mult iple
respondents, jointly, shall make a proposal to the other party for an
arbitrator to be appointed pursuant to article 20 or shall appo int an
arbitrator pursuant to article 21, as the case may be.
(2) Where the dispute is to be referred to a sole arbitrator and
where there are multiple parties, whether as claimant or asrespondent, the multiple claimants, jointly, and the multiplerespondents, jointly, may reach an agreement with the other par ty
on the choice of a single arbitrator to be appointed pursuant t o
article 20.
(3) In the absence of such joint nomination, where the dispute
                 ARBITRATION               [CAP. 387.       13
is to be referred to three arbitrators and where all parties ar e unable
to agree to a method for the constitution of the arbitral tribu nal, the
chairman may on the request of either of the parties appoint ea ch
member of the arbitral tribunal and shall designate one of them  to
act as presiding arbitrator. 
Request to the 
chairman to appoint an arbitrator.
Amended by:
XVIII.1999.13.22. (1) When the chairman is requested to appoint an
arbitrator pursuant to articles 20, 21 or 21A, the party which makes
the request shall file with the registrar a notice for an appoi ntment
and refer therein to the notice of arbitration filed under arti cle 17. 
(2) The Centre may require from either party such information
as may be deemed necessary to fulfil its function.
(3) Where persons are proposed for appointment as arbitrators,
their full names, addresses and nationalities together with adescription of their profession,  qualifications and experience shall
be indicated.
Impartiality or 
independence.23. (1) A person who is approached as a prospective arbitrator
shall disclose to those who approach him in connection with hispossible appointment any circumstances likely to give rise tojustifiable doubts as to his impartiality or independence.
(2) An arbitrator, once appointed or chosen, shall disclose to
the parties the circumstances mentioned in the previous subarti cle
unless the parties have already been informed by him of thesecircumstances.
Challenge of 
arbitrator.24. (1) Any arbitrator may be challenged if circumstances
exist that give rise to justifiable doubt as to the arbitrator’ s
impartiality or independence.
(2) A party may challenge the arbitrator appointed by him only
for reasons of which he becomes aware after the appointment hasbeen made.
Notification of 
challenge.25. (1) A party who intends to challenge an arbitrator, shall
send notice of his challenge within fifteen days after theappointment of the challenged arbitrator has been notified to t hat
party or within fifteen days after the circumstances mentioned in
article 23 and 24 became known to that party.
(2) The challenge shall be notified to the registrar, to the oth er
party, to the arbitrator who is challenged and to the other mem bers
of the arbitral tribunal. The notification shall be in writing and shall
state the reasons for the challenge.
(3) When an arbitrator has been challenged by one party the
other party may agree to the challenge. The arbitrator may also ,
after the challenge, withdraw from his office. In neither case does
this imply acceptance of the validity of the grounds for thechallenge. In both cases the procedure provided in articles 20 and
21 shall be used in full for the appointment of the substitutearbitrator even if during the process of appointing the challen ged
arbitrator a party had failed to exercise his right to appoint or to
participate in the appointment.
 14        CAP. 387. ]                        ARBITRATION
Non-withdrawal of 
challenged arbitrator.26. (1) If the other party does not agree to the challenge and
the challenged arbitrator does not withdraw, the decision on th e
challenge will be made by the chairman, and his decision shall be
final and binding.
(2) When the chairman sustains the challenge, he shall appoint
a substitute arbitrator.
Replacement of an 
arbitrator. 27. (1) In the event of the death or resignation of an arbitrator
during the course of the arbitral proceedings a substitute arbi trator
shall be appointed or chosen pursuant to the procedure provided  for
in articles 20 to 23 which was applicable to the appointment orchoice of the arbitrator being replaced.
(2) In the event that an arbitrator fails to act or in the event  of
the de jure or de facto  impossibility of his performing his functions,
the procedure in respect of the challenge and replacement of anarbitrator as provided in the preceding articles shall apply.
Language.
Amended by:
XVIII.1999.14. 28. (1) The language to be used in the proceedings shall,
unless the parties agree otherwise, be Maltese.
(2) The arbitral tribunal may order that any documents annexed
to the statement of claim or statement of defence, and anysupplementary documents or exhibits submitted in the course of the
proceedings, shall be delivered in their original language orlanguages agreed on by the parties or determined by the arbitra l
tribunal.
Statement of claim.  29. (1) Unless the statement of claim was contained in the
notice of arbitration, within a period of time to be determined  by
the arbitral tribunal, the claima nt shall communicate his state ment
of claim in writing to the respondent and to each of the arbitr ators.
A copy of the contract, and of the arbitration agreement if not
contained in the contract, shall be annexed thereto.
(2) The statement of claim shall include the following
particulars:
(a) the names and addresses of the parties;
(b) a statement of the facts supporting the claim;
(c) the points at issue; and
(d) the relief or remedy sought.
(3) The claimant may annex to this statement of claim all
documents he deems relevant or may add a reference to thedocuments or other evidence he will submit.
Statement of 
defence. 30. (1) The respondent shall communicate his statement of
defence in writing to the claimant and to each of the arbitrato rs
within a period of time to be determined by the arbitral tribun al.
(2) The statement of defence shall contain a reply to the
particulars ( b), (c) and ( d) of the statement of claim referred to in
article 29(2). The respondent may annex to his statement thedocuments on which he relies for his defence or may add areference to the documents or other evidence he will submit.
                 ARBITRATION               [CAP. 387.       15
(3) In his statement of defence, or at a later stage in the arbi tral
proceedings, if the arbitral tribunal decides that the delay wa s
justified under the circumstances, the respondent may make acounter-claim arising out of the same contract or rely on a cla im
arising out of the same contract for the purpose of a set-off.
(4) The provisions of article 29(2) shall apply to a counter-
claim and a claim relied on for the purpose of a set-off.
Amendments to the 
claim or defence.31. During the course of the arbitral proceedings either party
may amend or supplement his claim or defence unless the arbitra l
tribunal considers it inappropriate to allow such amendment hav ing
regard to the delay in making it or prejudice to the other part y or
any other justifiable circumstances. However, a claim may not b e
amended in such a manner that the amended claim falls outside t he
scope of the clause or of the separate arbitration agreement.
Pleas as to the 
jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal.
Amended by:
XXXI. 2002.237.32. (1) The arbitral tribunal shall have the power to rule on
objections that it has no jurisdiction, including any objection s with
respect to the existence or validity of the arbitration clause or of the
separate arbitration agreement. 
(2) The arbitral tribunal shall have the power to determine the
existence or the validity of the contract of which an arbitrati on
clause forms part. For the purposes of article 32, an arbitrati on
clause which forms part of a contract and which provides forarbitration under this Part shall be treated as an agreementindependent of the other terms of the contract. A decision by t he
arbitral tribunal that the contract is null and void shall not entail
ipso jure  the invalidity of the arbitration clause.
(3) A plea that the arbitral tribunal does not have jurisdiction
shall be raised not later than in the statement of defence or, with
respect to a counter-claim, in the reply to the counter-claim.
(4) In general, the arbitral tribunal should rule on a plea
concerning its jurisdiction as a preliminary question:
Provided that the arbitral tribunal may proceed with the
arbitration and rule on such a plea in its final award.
(5) In the event that proceedings are filed before any court for  a
declaration relating to the jurisdiction of an arbitral tribuna l, such
proceedings shall be dismissed and the parties shall be referre d to the
arbitral tribunal for its decision on such issue, unless the co urt
considers that any party will suffer irreparable harm unless itdetermines the issue.
Further written 
statements.33. The arbitral tribunal shall decide what further written
statements, in addition to the statement of claim and the state ment
of defence, shall be required fr om the parties or may be presen ted
by them and shall fix the periods of time for communicating suc h
statements. 
Periods of time. 34. The periods of time fixed by the arbitral tribunal for the
communication of written statements (including the statement ofclaim and statement of defence) should not exceed forty-five da ys:
 Provided that the arbitral tribunal may extend the time-
 16        CAP. 387. ]                        ARBITRATION
limits if it considers that an extension is justified.
Burden of proof. 35. (1) Each party shall have the burden of proving facts
relied on to support his claim or defence.
(2) The arbitral tribunal may, if it considers it appropriate,
require a party to deliver to the tribunal and to the other par ty,
within such a period of time as the arbitral tribunal may decid e, a
summary of the documents and other evidence which that partyintends to present in support of the facts in issue set out in his
statement of claim or statement of defence.
(3) At any time during the arbitral proceedings the arbitral
tribunal may require the parties to produce documents, exhibits  or
other evidence within such a period or time as the arbitral tri bunal
shall determine. 
Evidence.
Amended by:
XXXI. 2002.238.
Cap. 12.36. (1) Subject to the provisions of article 37, the evidence of
witnesses in an arbitration shall be produced either viva voce or by
affidavit, and subject to the relevant articles of this Part, t he rules
of the Code of Organization and Civil Procedure and of any law
from time to time in force in Malta shall apply to the producti on of
evidence viva voce or by affidavit before the arbitral tribunal as
they apply to the production of evidence before a court of civi l
jurisdiction.
(2) The Centre may make rules setting down the terms within
which the evidence is to be produced and the manner of itsproduction, and the parties may, notwithstanding the foregoing and
the provisions of subarticle (1), agree that the evidence ofwitnesses is to be produced within such times and in such manne r
as may be determined by the parties:
 Provided that such agreement may not be incompatible with
any rule made by the Centre and declared by it to be inderogabl e.
(3) Subject to the provisions of article 37(2), where the
evidence of any person is required, the registrar may issue wri ts of
subpoena to compel the attendance of a witness to give evidence  or
produce documents before an arbitral tribunal. The application for
the issue of the writ shall be countersigned by the sole arbitr ator, or
the presiding arbitrator, and shall be filed in the registry of  the
Civil Court, First Hall, by the registrar.
(4) The provisions of subarticle (3) shall apply mutatis
mutandis  where for the purposes of proceedings before an arbitral
tribunal, a rogatory commission or letters of request are requi red to
be issued in respect of, or an affidavit is required by, a pers on who
is not resident within the jurisdiction of the courts of Malta.  
(5) Upon the filing of an application to which subarticles (3) a nd
(4) apply, the court which, had there not been an arbitration a greement,
would otherwise have had jurisdiction shall notify the writ orotherwise act on the application in the same manner as if suchapplication or such writ had been issued or approved by the Civ il
Court, First Hall.
(6) Where any person who has been regularly subpoenaed to
                 ARBITRATION               [CAP. 387.       17
appear before an arbitral tribunal in accordance with this arti cle
fails to appear before the said tribunal without reasonable exc use,
the tribunal may make a report thereon to the registrar who sha ll by
application bring the report to the attention of the Civil Cour t, First
Hall, requesting it to deal with the matter in the same manner as if
the person concerned had failed to appear before that court whe n
regularly subpoenaed and thereupon the court shall deal with th e
matter in the said manner.
Oral hearing. 37. (1) In the event of an oral hearing of the parties or of
witnesses, the arbitral tribunal shall give the parties adequat e
advance notice of the date, time and place thereof.
(2) If the witnesses are to be heard, each party shall
communicate to the arbitral tribunal and to the other party, at  least
fifteen days before the hearing, the names and addresses of thewitnesses he intends to present, the subject upon which and thelanguages in which such witnesses will give their testimony.
(3) The arbitral tribunal shall make arrangements for the
translation of oral statements made at a hearing and for a reco rd of
the hearing if either is deemed necessary by the arbitral tribu nal in
the circumstances of the case, or if the parties have agreed th ereto
and have communicated such agreement to the arbitral tribunal a t
least fifteen days before the hearing.
(4) Hearings shall be held  in camera  unless the parties agree
otherwise. The arbitral tribunal may require the retirement of any
witness or witnesses during the testimony of other witnesses. T he
arbitral tribunal is free to determine the manner in which witn esses
are examined.
(5) The arbitral tribunal shall determine the admissibility,
relevance, materiality and weight of the evidence offered.
Interim measures 
and precautional acts.
Amended by:
XVIII.1999.15;XXXI. 2002.239.Cap. 12.
Cap. 12.38. (1) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, any party may
request the court to issue any of the precautionary acts listed  in
article 830(1) of the Code of Organization and Civil Procedure
subject to the provisions of the following subarticles.
(2) Where in accordance with subarticle (1) a precautionary act
has been issued, such act shall remain in force until such time  as it
shall expire or be revoked in accordance with the provisions of  the
Code of Organization and Civil Procedure  or until such time as the
arbitral tribunal by an award given for that purpose shall orde r the
party issuing the precautionary act to withdraw the same and is sue
the relative counter-warrant.
Cap. 12. (3) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of
Organization and Civil Procedure the time established therein
within which the action is to be instituted in respect of the r ight
stated in the precautionary act issued shall be of twenty days from
the filing of the judicial act whereby the court is requested t o issue
the precautionary act. The provisions of the said Code for theextension of the said time shall also apply.
(4) Action as is referred to in subarticle (3) shall be deemed t o
have been taken when the arbitration proceedings are commenced.
 18        CAP. 387. ]                        ARBITRATION
For the purpose of this subarticle arbitration proceedings shal l be
deemed to have commenced on the date referred to in article 17( 2).
(5) The party at whose request a precautionary act has been
issued in accordance with this article shall, within the timespecified in subarticle (3), file a note in the records of theproceedings for the issue of the said precautionary act togethe r with
a certificate by the registrar showing that he has commencedarbitration proceedings in accordance with subarticle (4).
(6) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the arbitral tribuna l
may, at the request of a party, order any party to take such in terim
measures of protection as the tribunal may consider necessary i n
respect of the subject matter in dispute. The arbitral tribunal  may
require any party to provide adequate security in connection wi th
such measures.
(7) The court may on the application of any party order the
enforcement of any measure referred to in subarticle (6) and sh all
have all ancillary powers to amend or revoke such orders afterhearing the parties and the arbitral tribunal as it deems neces sary.
Cap. 12. (8) The Board established under article 29 of the Code of
Organization and Civil Procedure may make rules concerning all
matters relating to the issue of precautionary acts and other s uch
orders when they relate to arbitral proceedings.
Experts. 39. (1) The arbitral tribunal may appoint one or more experts
to report to it, in writing, on specific issues to be determine d by the
tribunal. A copy of the expert’s terms of reference, establishe d by
the arbitral tribunal, shall be communicated to the parties.
(2) The parties shall give the expert any relevant information o r
produce for his inspection any relevant documents or goods that  he
may require of them. Any dispute between a party and such exper t
as to the relevance of the requi red information or production s hall
be referred to the arbitral tribunal for decision.
(3) Upon receipt of the expert’s report, the arbitral tribunal
shall communicate a copy of the report to the parties who shall  be
given the opportunity to express, in writing, their opinion on the
report. A party shall be entitled to examine any document on wh ich
the expert has relied in his report.
(4) At the request of either party the expert, after delivery of
the report, may be heard at a hearing where the parties shall h ave
the opportunity to be present and to interrogate the expert. At  this
hearing either party may present expert witnesses in order to t estify
on the points at issue. The provisions of article 36 shall beapplicable to such proceedings.
Default. 40. (1) If within the period of time fixed by the arbitral
tribunal the claimant has failed to communicate his claim witho ut
showing sufficient cause for such failure, the arbitral tribuna l shall
issue an order for the termination of the arbitral proceedings.  If,
within the period of time fixed by the arbitral tribunal, therespondent has failed to communicate his statement of defencewithout showing sufficient cause for such failure, the arbitral
                 ARBITRATION               [CAP. 387.       19
tribunal shall order that the proceedings continue.
(2) If one of the parties, duly notified under this Part, has to
appear at a hearing, fails to do so without showing sufficient cause
for such failure, the arbitral tribunal may proceed with thearbitration.
(3) If one of the parties duly invited to produce documentary
evidence, fails to do so within the established period of time,without showing sufficient cause for such failure, the arbitraltribunal may make the award on the evidence before it.
Closure of 
hearings.41. (1) The arbitral tribunal may enquire of the parties if they
have any further proof to offer or witnesses to produce orsubmissions to make and, if there are none, it shall declare th e
hearings closed. 
(2) The arbitral tribunal may, if it considers it necessary owin g
to exceptional circumstances, decide, on its own motion or uponapplication of a party, to reopen the hearings at any time befo re the
award is made.
Waiver of rules. 42. A party who knows that any provision of, or requirement
under, this Part has not been complied with and yet proceeds wi th
the arbitration without promptl y stating his objection to such non-
compliance, shall be deemed to have waived its right to object.
Decisions. 43. (1) When there are three arbitrators, any award or other
decision of the arbitral tribunal shall be made by a majority o f the
arbitrators.
(2) In the case of questions of procedure, when there is no
majority or when the arbitral tribunal so authorises, the presi ding
arbitrator may decide on his own, subject to revision, if any, by the
arbitral tribunal.
Form of the award, 
interim, interlocutory or partial award.
Amended by:
XVIII.1999.16;
XXXI. 2002.240;IX. 2004.23.44. (1) Unless otherwise agreed between the parties, the
arbitral tribunal may make more than one award at different tim es
on different aspects of the matters to be determined. The arbit ral
tribunal may make an award relating - 
(a) to an issue affecting the whole claim, or
(b) to a part only of the claims or counterclaims submitted
to it for decision,
and shall also be entitled to make interim and/or interlocutory  awards.
(2) The award shall be in writing and shall be deemed to be
delivered at the place agreed by the parties as the place ofarbitration, or, in the absence of agreement, determined by thearbitral tribunal.
(3) The arbitral tribunal shall state the reasons upon which the
award is based, unless the parties have agreed that no reasons are to
be given:
Provided that in the case of interlocutory awards relating to
the procedures of the arbitration, no reasons are to be given.
(4) An award shall be signed by the arbitrators and it shall
 20        CAP. 387. ]                        ARBITRATION
contain the date on which and the place where the award was
deemed to have been made. Where there are three arbitrators andone of them fails to sign, the award shall state the reason for  the
absence of the signature. 
(5) The award may be made public only with the consent of
both parties.
(6) Copies of the award signed by the arbitrators shall be
communicated to the parties by the arbitral tribunal.
(7) An award is final when it settles all or part of the merits of
an issue, is susceptible of immediate implementation and is notpreparatory to another stage in the proceedings or otherwise ha s the
effect of bringing the proceedings to an end.
(8) The arbitral tribunal shall immediately and in any case not
later than twenty days from the date referred to in subarticle (4),
present any final awards together with all partial and interimawards not already registered to the registrar for registration  by the
Centre and shall comply with the relevant provisions of this Ac t
and the requirements of registration issued by the Centre.
(9) Subject to recourse being made against an award in terms of
article 69A, final awards shall be binding on the parties, and the
parties shall carry out such awards without delay.
(10) Interlocutory awards are not subject to registration, no
recourse may be taken against them and they are binding on theparties to the proceedings immediately on their notification to  the
parties who shall carry them on without delay.
Applicable law, 
amiable compositeur. 45. (1) The arbitral tribunal shall apply, subject to the
provisions of this Act, the law designated by the parties asapplicable to the substance of the dispute. Failing such design ation
by the parties, the arbitral tribunal shall apply Maltese lawincluding the rules of Maltese law relative to the conflict of laws.
(2) The arbitral tribunal shall decide as amiable compositeur  or
ex aequo et bono  only if the parties have expressly authorised the
arbitral tribunal to do so.
(3) In all cases, the arbitral tribunal shall decide in accordan ce
with the terms of the contract and shall, if relevant, take int o
account the usages of the trade applicable to the transaction.
(4) Unless otherwise agreed to by the parties or otherwise
provided for in or under this Act, the arbitral tribunal may co nduct
the arbitration in such manner it considers appropriate. The po wer
conferred upon the arbitral tribunal includes the power to dete rmine
the admissibility, relevance, materiality and weight of anyevidence.
Settlement or other 
grounds for termination.
Amended by:
XXXI. 2002.241.46. (1) If before the award is made, the parties agree on a
settlement of the dispute, the arbitral tribunal shall either i ssue an
order for the termination of the arbitral proceedings or, if re quested
by both parties and accepted by the arbitral tribunal, record t he
settlement in the form of an arbitral award on agreed terms. Th e
arbitral tribunal is not obliged to give reasons for such an aw ard.
                 ARBITRATION               [CAP. 387.       21
(2) If before the award is made, the continuation of the arbitra l
proceedings becomes unnecessary or impossible for any reason no t
mentioned in subarticle (1), the arbitral tribunal shall inform  the
parties of its intention to issue an order for the termination of the
proceedings. The arbitral tribunal shall have the power to issu e
such an order unless a party raises justifiable grounds for obj ection.
(3) Copies of the order for termination of the arbitral
proceedings or of the award on agreed terms, signed by thearbitrators, shall be communicated by the arbitral tribunal to the
parties and to the registrar. Where an arbitral award on agreedterms is made, the provisions of article 44(2) and (4) to (8) s hall
apply.
(4) The provisions of this article shall also apply in case the
parties resolve a dispute which may have arisen between them bymediation, conciliation or any other means.   In such a case th e
person assisting in the resolution of the dispute may, with theconsent of both parties, act as the arbitrator for the purpose of
registering the agreement reached between them in terms of this
Act and, when registered, such agreement shall be treated for a ll
intents and purposes as a registered award.
(5) Where the parties resolve a dispute as is mentioned in
subarticle (4) and the person whose services may have been used  in
resolving the dispute is unable or unwilling to act in terms of  this
article, the Centre may on the joint application of the parties  to the
agreement appoint an arbitrator for such purpose:
Provided that, with the consent of the parties, the Registrar
may provide support to the parties in such cases by carrying ou t the
registration functions of an arbitrator in accordance with rule s
which may be made by the Centre from time to time.
Interpretation of 
the award.
Amended by:
XXXI. 2002.242.47. (1) Within fifteen days from the receipt of the award,
either party, with notice to the other party, may request that the
arbitral tribunal give an interpretation of the award.
(2) The interpretation shall be given in writing within forty-
five days after the receipt of the request. The interpretation shall
form part of the award, and the provisions of article 44(2) to (8)
shall apply.
Correction of the 
award.
Amended by:
XXXI. 2002.243.48. (1) Within fifteen days from the receipt of the award,
either party, with notice to the other party, may request the a rbitral
tribunal to correct in the award any errors in computation, anyclerical or typographical errors, or any errors of similar natu re. The
arbitral tribunal may within thirty days after the communicatio n of
the award, make such corrections on its own initiative.
(2) Such corrections shall be in writing, and the provisions of
article 44(2) to (8) shall apply.
Additional award.
Amended by:
XXXI. 2002.244.49. (1) Within fifteen days after the receipt of the award,
either party, with notice to the other party, may request the a rbitral
tribunal to make an additional award as to claims presented in the
arbitral proceedings but omitted from the award.
 22        CAP. 387. ]                        ARBITRATION
(2) If the arbitral tribunal considers the request for an
additional award to be justified and considers that the omissio n can
be rectified without any further hearings or evidence, it shallcomplete its award within forty-five days from the receipt of t he
request.
(3) When an additional award is made the provisions of article
44(2) to (8) shall apply.
Costs. 50. The arbitral tribunal shall fix the costs of arbitration in its
award. The term "costs" includes only:
(a) the fees of the arbitral tribunal to be stated separately
as to each arbitrator and to be fixed by the tribunalitself in accordance with article 51;
(b) the travel and other expenses incurred by the
arbitrators;
(c) the costs of expert advice and of other assistance
required by the arbitral tribunal;
(d) the travel and other expenses of witnesses to the extent
such expenses are approved by the arbitral tribunal;
(e) the costs for legal representation and assistance of the
successful party if such costs were claimed during thearbitral proceedings, and only to the extent that thearbitral tribunal determines that the amount of suchcosts is reasonable; and
(f) any fees and expenses payable to the Centre.
Arbitral tribunal to 
determine fees and costs.Substituted by:XVIII.1999.17;IX. 2004.24.51. (1) The arbitral tribunal shall determine fees and costs in
accordance with such rules and guidelines which may be made bythe Minister responsible for justice with the concurrence of th e
Centre from time to time and such determinations on fees and co sts
shall be subject to review as may be prescribed in such rules o r
guidelines.
(2) The Centre may be delegated the function of determining
fees and costs, by applicable law or by the parties, in specifi c cases
or classes of cases under such conditions as may be stated in s uch
law, in any rules or guidelines issued by the Minister responsi ble
for justice with the concurrence of the Centre or in the arbitr ation
agreement.
Costs in principle 
to be borne by unsuccessful party.52. (1) Except as provided in subarticle (2), the costs of
arbitration shall in principle be borne by the unsuccessful par ty.
However, the arbitral tribunal may apportion such costs betweenthe parties if it determines that apportionment is reasonable, taking
into account the particular circumstances of the case.
(2) With respect of the costs of legal representation and
assistance referred to in paragraph ( e) of article 50, the arbitral
tribunal, taking into account the particular circumstances of t he
case, shall be free to determine which party shall bear such co sts or
may apportion such costs between the parties if it determines t hat
apportionment is reasonable.
                 ARBITRATION               [CAP. 387.       23
(3) When the arbitral tribunal issues an order for the
termination of the arbitral proceedings or makes an award onagreed terms, it shall in the text of that order or award, fix the costs
of arbitration referred to in article 50 and article 51.
(4) No additional fees may be charged by an arbitral tribunal
for interpretation or correction or completion of its award und er
articles 47 to 49.
Deposit of costs.
Amended by:
XVIII.1999.18. 53. (1) The arbitral tribunal, on its establishment, may request
each party to deposit with the Centre an equal sum between them  as
an advance payment for the costs referred to in paragraphs ( a), (b)
and ( c) of article 50.
(2) During the course of the arbitral proceedings the arbitral
tribunal may request from the parties supplementary deposits tocover further costs.
(3) The arbitral tribunal shall fix the amounts of any deposits
or supplementary deposits only after consultation with the Cent re
which may make to the arbitral tribunal any comments which itdeems appropriate concerning the amount of such deposits andsupplementary deposits.
(4) If the required deposits are not paid in full within thirty
days from the receipt of the request, the arbitral tribunal sha ll so
inform the parties in order that any one of them may make therequired payment. If such payment is not made, the arbitral tri bunal
may order the suspension or termination of the arbitralproceedings.
(5) After the award has been made, the arbitral tribunal shall
render an account to the parties of the deposits received and r eturn
to the parties any unexpended balance.
Place of arbitral 
proceedings.54. (1) Unless the parties agree otherwise, arbitral
proceedings conducted under this Part of this Act shall be held  at
the premises provided by the Centre.
(2) The arbitral tribunal may meet at any place it deems
appropriate for the inspection of goods, other property ordocuments. The parties shall be given sufficient notice to enab le
them to be present at such inspection.
PART V
International Commercial Arbitration
Model Law.  55. (1) Subject to this Part, the Model Law shall form part of
the Laws of Malta and shall be enforceable as such.
(2) In the Model Law:"State" means Malta and any foreign country;"this state" means Malta.
Interpretation. 56. (1) For the purposes of interpreting the Model Law,
reference may be made:
 24        CAP. 387. ]                        ARBITRATION
(a) to the works of the United Nations Commission on
International Trade Law; and
(b) to the preparatory documents of the Model Law.
Cap. 249.(2) subarticle (1) does not affect the application of the
Interpretation Act for the purposes of interpreting this Act.
Article 6 of the 
Model Law.57. The functions referred to in Article 6 of the Model Law
shall be performed by: 
(a) the chairman in respect to Articles 11(3), 11(4), 13(3)
and 14; and
(b) the Court of Appeal in respect to Articles 16(3), 34(2)
and 35(1).
Articles 34 and 36 
of the Model Law.58. With reference to Articles 34(2)( b) (ii) and 36(1)( b) (ii) of
the Model Law, for the purposes of the said Articles it is here by
declared that an award is in conflict with the public policy of  Malta
if -
(a) the award was induced or affected by fraud or
corruption; or
(b) a breach of the rules of natural justice occurred in
connection with the making of the award.
Chapter VIII of the 
Model Law not to apply. Substituted by:XVIII.1999.19.59. Part VII of this Act on the Recognition and Enforcement of
Foreign Awards shall apply to foreign arbitration awards andChapter VIII of the Model Law shall not apply.
Settlement of 
dispute otherwise than in accordance with Model Law.
Amended by:
XVIII.1999.20.60. If the parties to an arbitration agreement falling under this
Part of this Act have (whether in the agreement or in any otherdocument in writing) agreed that any dispute that has arisen or  may
arise between them is to be settled otherwise than in accordanc e
with the Model Law, and the parties have not chosen the rules t hat
are to govern the arbitration, then the provisions of Part IV o f this
Act shall apply.
Optional 
registration of international awards.Substituted by:XVIII.1999.21;XXXI. 2002.245.61. (1)  Registration with the Centre of an international award
shall not be required for the validity of the award.
(2) Where in accordance with article 60, the provisions of Part IV
of the Act apply, the requirement in article 17(1) with regard to filing
of a notice of arbitration for registration by the Centre shall  not apply
and the relevant provisions of the Model Law shall apply.
(3) Notwithstanding subarticle (1), an international award may b e
registered with the Centre as provided in article 72 on the app lication
of any interested party and against payment of the applicable f ee;
provided that in such a case article 72(4)( a) and article 72(6) shall not
apply and the following subarticles (4) and (5) shall apply in their
stead.
(4) The Registrar shall not register an international award prio r to
the lapse of at least three months from the date of the award u nless the
parties confirm in writing that they do not intend to take any recourse
against the award in terms of applicable law.
                 ARBITRATION               [CAP. 387.       25
(5) On the lapse of the period stated in subarticle (4), the Reg istrar
shall not register an international award if he is notified tha t recourse
against an award has been taken by any party to the arbitrationproceedings, until such time as he is notified of the outcome o f such
recourse. Any party to the proceedings who may take recourse ag ainst
an award shall notify the Centre in writing of any recourse tak en, in
Malta or overseas, within fifteen days of such event.
(6) When the parties to an international arbitration agreement
have expressly reserved recourse in terms of article 69A(3), an y appeal
shall be made within the period stated in article 34(3) of the Model
Law.
Cap. 12.(7) An international award given pursuant to Part V shall, upon its
registration with the Centre as provided in this article, const itute an
executive title for the purposes of Title VII of Part I of Book  Second of
the Code of Or ganization and Civil Procedure .
(8) Where no party has registered the award with the Centre in
terms of this article, any party relying on an international aw ard may at
any time apply to the Court of Appeal for recognition and enfor cement
of the said award in accordance w ith Part VIII of the Model Law  and
the provisions in that part shall apply mutatis mutandis to any appeal
which may have been reserved in terms of article 69A(3).
Cap. 12.(9) On application by any party, the Court of Appeal may,
notwithstanding the provisions of the Code of Organization and Civil
Procedure or the Model Law, order the provisional enforcement of an
international award in whole or in part, and may issue all such  related
and ancillary orders as it may deem fit.
Article 17 of the 
Model Law.
Amended by:
XVIII.1999.22.62. Notwithstanding  the provisions of article 59, Chapter VIII
of the Model Law applies to orders by an arbitral tribunal madeunder Article 17 of the Model Law requiring a party -
(a) to take an interim measure of protection; or
(b) to provide security in connection with such a measure;
as if any reference in that Chapter to an arbitral award or an award
were a reference to such an order.
Interest up to 
making of award.63. (1) Unless the parties to an arbitration agreement falling
under this Part of this Act have otherwise agreed, when an arbi tral
tribunal determines to make an award for the payment of money(whether on a claim for a liquidated or an unliquidated amount) , the
tribunal may, subject to subarticle (2), include in the sum for  which
the award is made interest at such a reasonable rate as the tri bunal
may determine on the whole or any part of the money, and for th e
whole or any part of the period between the date on which the c ause
of action arose, and the date on which the award is made.
(2) Subarticle (1) does not - 
(a) authorise the awarding of interest upon interest;
(b) apply in relation to any amount upon which interest is
payable as of right whether by virtue of an agreementor otherwise; and
(c) affect the damages that may be recoverable as a result
 26        CAP. 387. ]                        ARBITRATION
of a bill of exchange being dishonoured.
Interest on debt 
under award.64. Unless the parties to an arbitration agreement falling under
this Part of this Act have otherwise agreed, where an arbitraltribunal makes an award for the payment of money, the tribunalmay direct that interest at such reasonable rate as the tribuna l may
determine, is payable, from the  date referred to in Article 31( 3) of
the Model Law or such later day as the tribunal specifies.
Costs and fees.
Amended by:
XVIII.1999.23.65. (1) Saving the provisions of article 79, unless the parties
to an arbitration agreement falling under this Part of this Act  have
otherwise agreed, the arbitral tribunal shall fix the costs and  fees of
arbitration in the award in accordance with article 50, 51, 52 and 53
mutatis mutandis.
(2) If no provision is made by an award with respect to the
costs and fees of the arbitration, a party to the arbitration a greement
may, within thirty days after receiving the award, apply to thearbitral tribunal for directions as to the payment of the said costs
and fees, and thereupon the tribunal shall, after hearing any p arty
who wishes to be heard, amend the award in accordance witharticle 65(1).
Liability of 
arbitrator.66. Article 20(5) applies to any arbitrator involved in
arbitrations held under this Part of this Act.
Representation in 
proceedings.67. With the agreement of the parties or at the request of a
party, as the case may be, where the arbitral tribunal, in acco rdance
with the Model Law, holds oral hearings or proceedings on thebasis of documents or other materials, article 18 shall, withou t
prejudice to the Model Law, apply.
Application of this 
Part.68. This Part does not apply in relation to an international
commercial arbitration between parties to an arbitration agreem ent
that was concluded before the commencement of this Part of this
Act unless the parties have otherwise agreed.
PART VI
Powers of the Court with respect to Arbitrations
Extent of court 
intervention.Cap. 319.69. Saving the provisions of the Constitution and of the
European Convention Act, in matters governed by this Act, no
court shall intervene or have jurisdiction in any matter exceptwhere so provided for in this Act.
Executive title.
Added by:
XXXI. 2002.246.
Amended by:
IX. 2010.9.Cap. 12.69A. (1) An award given pursuant to an arbitration agreement
in accordance with Part IV of this Act, shall upon its registra tion by
the Centre, as provided in article 72, constitute an executive title
for the purposes of Title VII of Part I of Book Second of the Code
of Or ganization and Civil Procedure .
(2) Recourse against an arbitral award delivered under Part IV
may be made to the Court of Appeal by application either -
(a) praying that the award be set aside in accordance with
the provisions of article 70, or
(bappealing on a point of law in accordance with article
                 ARBITRATION               [CAP. 387.       27
70A except in the case of mandatory arbitrations, or
(c) appealing both on points of fact and on points of law in
accordance with article 70C.
(3) Recourse against an arbitral award delivered under Part V
may be made to the Court of Appeal by an appeal on a point of l aw
only if the parties to the arbitration agreement have expresslyagreed that such right of appeal is available to the parties inaddition to the rights of recourse as contemplated in article 3 4 of
the Model Law. In such cases the provisions of articles 61(5), 70A,
70B and related articles shall apply.
(4) Recourse against an award may also be made in accordance
with any procedure of appeal or review which may be expressly a greed
to by the parties in the arbitration agreement.
(5) The rights of recourse specified in the subarticles (2) and (3)
shall arise, to the extent available in terms of the Act and th e
arbitration agreement, upon the exhaustion of any contractual p rocess.
All time limits specified in this Act for applications under ar ticles 70
and 70A shall commence from such time as the result of thecontractual process is notified, is otherwise completed or laps es.
(6) Where any law provides for an arbitration board, tribunal or
other authority and contemplates a specific right of appeal, re view or
other recourse against its awards, the provisions of this Act w ith
regard to recourse against awards shall not apply and the provi sions of
such other law shall alone regulate the right of recourse again st awards
of such board, tribunal or other authority.
Cap. 12.(7) Notwithstanding that registration of an award may not yet
have been effected in terms of article 61(4) or 72(4)( a), the Court
of Appeal may, on the application of any party and notwithstand ing
any provisions of the Code of Organization and Civil Procedure,
order the provisional enforcement of the award in whole or in p art,
and may issue all related and ancillary orders as it may deem f it.
Awards.
Amended by:
XVIII.1999.24.Substituted by:XXXI. 2002.247.
Amended by:
IX. 2010.10.70. (1) Subject to the provisions of article 71, the Court of
Appeal shall only determine that an award shall be set aside if  -
(a) the applicant proves to the satisfaction of the Court of
Appeal that -
(i) a party to the arbitration agreement was under
some incapacity to enter the arbitrationagreement; or that the said agreement was notvalid under the law to which the parties havesubjected it; or
(ii) the party against whom the award is invoked was
not given proper notice of the appointment of anarbitrator or of the arbitral proceedings or wasotherwise impeded from presenting his case; or
(iii) the award deals with a dispute not contemplated
by or not falling within the terms of thesubmission to arbitration, or it containsdecisions on matters beyond the scope of thesubmission to arbitration:
 28        CAP. 387. ]                        ARBITRATION
   Provided that if decisions on matters submitted
to arbitration can be separated from those not sosubmitted, only that part of the award whichcontains decisions on matters not submitted toarbitration may be set aside; or
(iv) the composition of the arbitral tribunal or the
arbitral procedure was not in accordance withthe agreement of the parties, unless suchagreement was in conflict with a provision ofthis Act from which the parties cannot derogate,or, failing such agreement, was not inaccordance with this Act;
(b) the Court of Appeal finds that -
(i) the subject-matter of the dispute is not capable
of settlement by arbitration under the Laws ofMalta; or
(ii) the award is in conflict with the public policy of
Malta.
(2) The application referred to in article 69A(2) shall be made
within fifteen days from the notification to the applicant of t he
award in accordance with this Act, and the applicant shall noti fy
the arbitrators and the Centre with a copy of the application a s soon
as practicable but not later than fifteen days after the applic ation is
filed.
Cap. 12.(3) For the purposes of this article and articles 57 and 73, the
Court of Appeal shall be composed in the manner provided in art icle
41(9) of the Code of Or ganization and Civil Procedure .
(4) All applications under this article shall be held in camera  and
only the parties thereto and their advocates and legal procurat ors shall
be allowed in the court during the hearing.
(5) The judgment of the court shall preserve the confidentiality  of
the arbitration and shall only reveal such facts as may be nece ssary to
make the same intelligible and enforceable by the parties.
(6) The cost of the appeal shall be in the discretion of the Cou rt of
Appeal and shall be a sum fixed by the Registrar, Civil Courts and
Tribunals (Civil Section) or the Registrar, Gozo Courts and Tri bunals
(Civil Section), as the case may be.
Cap. 12. (7) The Board established under article 29 of the Code of
Organization and Civil Procedure may make rules concerning
applications to the Court of Appeal under this article, under a rticle
70A, article 70C and article 73, and prescribe the fees to be p aid on
such applications.
Appeal on point of 
law.
Added by:
XXXI. 2002.248.70A. (1) A party to arbitral proceedings may appeal to the
Court of Appeal on a point of law arising out of a final award made
in the proceedings unless -
(a) the parties have expressly excluded such a right to
appeal in the arbitration agreement or otherwise inwriting; or
                 ARBITRATION               [CAP. 387.       29
(b) notwithstanding anything stated in the arbitration
agreement, the parties have expressly agreed that noreasons are to be given in the award in accordance witharticle 44(3).
(2) When an appeal is filed, the applicant shall notify the
arbitrators and the Centre with a copy of the application as so on as
practicable but not later than fifteen days after the appeal is  filed.
(3) The Court of Appeal shall only consider the appeal if the
Court is satisfied -
(a) that the determination of the point of law will
substantially affect the rights of one or more of theparties;
(b) that the point of law is one which the tribunal was
asked to determine or otherwise relied upon it in theaward;
(c) that on the basis of the findings of fact in the award the
decision of the tribunal on the point of law is prima
facie  open to serious doubt; and
(d) that based on a review of the application, any response
and the award, the appeal does not appear dilatory andvexatious,
and in all other cases the Court shall dismiss the appeal.
Identification of 
point of law.
Added by:
XXXI. 2002.248.
Amended by:
XXII. 2005.93.70B.  (1) An appeal under article 70A shall identify the point of
law to be determined and shall outline the interpretation which  the
applicant alleges is the correct interpretation on the point of  law
identified.
(2) Subject to the specific provisions of article 6 of Part B of
the Fourth Schedule, an appeal must be brought within fifteen d ays
of the receipt of the final award or, if there has been an arbi tral
process of appeal or review, of the date when the party was not ified
of the result of that process or the process was otherwise comp leted
or the time for it has elapsed.
(3) The provisions of article 70(3), (4), (5) and (6) shall appl y
to appeals made under article 70A.
Appeal in 
mandatory arbitration proceedings.
Added by:
IX. 2010.11.70C. (1) A party to mandatory arbitration proceedings shall
have a right of appeal to the Court of Appeal both on points of  fact
and on points of law arising out of a final award made in theproceedings.
(2) The provisions of article 70(3), (4), (5) and (6), of articl e
70A(2), article 70B(2) and article 71A shall apply to appeals m ade
under this article.
Resumption of 
arbitral proceedings.
Amended by:
XXXI. 2002.249;IX. 2010.12.71. (1) The Court of Appeal, when asked to set aside an
award, may, where appropriate, and when so required by a party,suspend the setting aside proceedings for a period of timedetermined by it, in order to give the arbitral tribunal anopportunity to resume the arbitral proceedings or to take such other
action as in the tribunal’s opinion will eliminate the grounds for
 30        CAP. 387. ]                        ARBITRATION
setting aside.
(2) The Court of Appeal may, on an appeal under articles 70A
and 70C -
(a) confirm the award,
(b) vary the award,
(c) remit the award to the tribunal, in whole or in part, for
reconsideration in the light of the Court’sdetermination, or
(d) set aside the award in whole or in part and itself
determine the matter.
(3) The Court of Appeal shall not itself determine the matter on
which it has sustained an application unless it is satisfied th at it
would be inappropriate to remit matters in question to the trib unal
for reconsideration.
Condition for 
application.
Added by:
XXXI. 2002.250.
Amended by:
IX. 2010.13.71A. (1) The following provisions shall apply to an application
to set aside or an appeal under article 70, 70A or 70C.
(2) An application may not be brought if the applicant or appell ant
has not first exhausted -
(a) any available contractual process of appeal or review;
and
(b) any available recourse under articles 47 (interpretation of
the award), 48 (correction of the award) or 49 (additionalaward).
(3) Any request made in terms of articles 47, 48 or 49 shall
have the effect of interrupting the time-limits for recourse ag ainst
an award specified in article 70(4) or article 70B(2). The peri od for
recourse established in the said articles shall run from the da te on
which any order made in terms of the said articles 47, 48 and 4 9 is
communicated to the party.
(4) The rights of recourse as provided in article 70 or 70A or
70C are mutually exclusive and cannot both be exercisedsimultaneously and an appeal on a point of law or on a point of  fact
shall exclude the right to apply to set aside the award: provid ed that
when a party has applied to the Court to set aside an award, he  may,
in subsidium , appeal on points of law or on point of fact provided
he does so in the same application.
(5) If on an application to set aside or on an appeal it appears  to
the Court that the award does not contain the tribunal’s reason s or does
not set out the tribunal’s reasons in sufficient detail to enab le the court
properly to consider the application or appeal, the court may r equest
the tribunal to give an interpretation of the award in accordan ce with
the terms of article 47(2).
(6) In making an order under the preceding subarticle the court
may make an order on costs arising from its order.
                 ARBITRATION               [CAP. 387.       31
Condition for 
application: supplemental provisions.
Added by:
XXXI. 2002.250.
Amended by:
IX. 2004.25.71B. (1) An application for setting aside or an appeal may only
be made in relation to final awards as defined in article 44(6) .
(2) Where several issues in an arbitration have been determined
by separate awards, recourse against such awards may only betaken after the final award and within the time limits stated i n this
Act, to be reckoned from the date of such final award and in su ch
recourse express mention shall be made of the awards againstwhich recourse is taken:
Provided that recourse may be taken against such separate
awards before the final award by leave of the arbitral tribunal ; such
request for leave to take recourse shall be made in writing to the
arbitral tribunal and copied to the Centre within six days from  the
date on which the award is communicated to the party.
(3) Recourse may not be taken against interlocutory awards.
Registration with 
and by the Centre.Substituted by:XVIII.1999.25;XXXI. 2002.251.
Amended by:
L.N. 425 of 2007;IX. 2010.14.72. (1) Where the registration of any final award or document
under this Act is required to be made with the Centre, the awar d or
document, or an authentic copy thereof, shall be deposited with  the
registrar together with such fee as may from time to time beprescribed for such registration.
(2) The registrar shall refuse to register an award or a
document if the same does not comply with any of the provisions  of
this Act or of the rules made by the Centre relative to such Ac t.
(3) In the case of a domestic arbitration, conducted under Part
IV of this Act, the provisions of article 38(2), (3), (4) and ( 5),
article 70, article 70A, article 70B, article 70C, article 71 a nd
article 71A shall only apply and the proceedings shall only be valid
where at any time prior to the communication of the award inaccordance with article 44(4), a notice of arbitration is regis tered
with the Centre in accordance with article 17.
(4) ( a)  The Registrar shall not register an award prior to the
lapse of thirty days from the date on which the awardhas been notified to the parties to an arbitration or ifthe Centre is notified of any recourse against an awardtaken by any party to the arbitration proceedings interms of this part of this Act.
(b) Where, following any application in accordance with
article 70 or 70A or 70C, the Court does not uphold theapplication, the judgement of the Court of Appeal shall
be registered with the Centre together with the awardbeing registered on the request of the party seekingregistration.
(5) Upon its registration with the Centre the award shall be
final and binding and, furthermore, may not be challenged.
(6) Any application under articles 70 or 70A or 70C which the
Court of Appeal determines to be frivolous or vexatious shallrender the party making such challenge or appeal liable to pay the
party requesting it a penalty of not less than two hundred andthirty-two euro and ninety-four cents (232.94) and not more tha n
eleven thousand and six hundred and forty-six euro and eighty-
 32        CAP. 387. ]                        ARBITRATION
seven cents (11,646.87) to be determined by the Court of Appeal .
Refusal to register 
document.Substituted by:XVIII.1999.26.73. (1) Where the registrar refuses the registration of any
document, whether upon an objection or otherwise, the partyrequesting registration may, within thirty days from such refus al,
request the Court of Appeal, by application, to order the regis trar to
accept such registration, and the decision of the said court sh all be
final and binding. Such application shall be served on the othe r
parties to the arbitration and on the registrar. 
(2) The fact that a document has been accepted for registration
by the Centre shall not preclude the challenge of the validity of
such document under any provision of this Act.
PART VII
Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Awards
Enforcement of 
foreign arbitration awards.
Amended by:
XVIII. 1999.27.74. (1) Saving the relevant articles of this Act, foreign
arbitration awards, to which the treaties set out in the SecondSchedule are applicable (subject to such reservations ordeclarations as may have been made by Malta on its becoming aparty to such treaties and as are contained in the Second Sched ule),
shall upon their registration by the Centre be enforced by the courts
of Malta in the same manner as if such awards were delivered un der
Part IV of this Act.
(2) The Minister may by notice in the Gazette add to, delete
from or substitute the list of t reaties to which Malta is a par ty and
contained in the Second Schedule to this Act.
(3) A certificate signed by the Minister responsible for foreign
affairs, or by any public officer designated by the said Minist er for
such purpose by notice in the Gazette, purporting that, at the time
specified in the certificate, any state has signed and ratified  or has
denounced, or has taken any other action under the treaties lis ted in
the schedules to this Act in respect of the state specified in the
certificate, shall be conclusive evidence before any court or o ther
authority of the facts therein stated.
Arbitration under 
other laws.
Amended by:
XVIII.1999.28.75. (1) For the purposes of this Act, any dispute  required to be
determined by arbitration under any other law, foreign or domes tic,
the provisions of such law shall, unless they provide for arbit ration
by a board, tribunal or other authority set up for the purpose,  be
read as if that other law were an arbitration agreement.
(2) Any award delivered in terms of subarticle (1) shall be
recognised and enforced by the courts of Malta upon its registr ation
by the Centre, in the same manner as if such award were deliver ed
under Part IV of this Act.
Settlement of 
international investment disputes.76. (1) Awards delivered pursuant to the Convention on the
Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of
other States, which convention was opened for signature in
Washington on the 18th March, 1965, (which convention is
hereafter in this article referred to as "the Convention" and i s
reproduced in the Third Schedule to this Act) shall be recognis ed
                 ARBITRATION               [CAP. 387.       33
and enforced by the courts of Malta as if such awards were fina l
judgments under the laws of Malta.
(2) The provisions of subarticle (1) shall apply only to such
awards on disputes submitted to arbitration by the parties ther eto in
accordance with the Convention and not otherwise excluded inaccordance with the same Convention.
(3) For the purposes of Article 54 of the Convention, the
competent authority shall be the Centre.
(4) The Prime Minister may by order in the Gazette and
notwithstanding any other law, make provision to give effect to  any
part of the Convention, and without prejudice to the generality  of
the foregoing may by such order grant such immunities andexemptions from any law as may be required by the Convention.
PART VIII
Miscellaneous
Language of 
schedules.77. In case of any conflict between the Maltese and English
text of any of the First, Second and Third Schedules to this Ac t, the
English text shall prevail.
Transitory 
provision.78. Subject to article 68, this Act applies to every arbitration
agreement, whether made before or after the commencement of thi s
Act, and to every arbitration under such an agreement:
 Provided that where arbitration proceedings had been
commenced before the date of commencement of this Act and arestill pending on that date then, notwithstanding any thing cont ained
in this Act, those proceedings shall continue to be governed by  the
law applicable thereto before the commencement of this Act unle ss
all the parties to those proceedings agree that this Act shall apply
thereto with effect from the date of the agreement whereupon th is
Act shall apply accordingly.
Arbitration 
chambers.
Added by:
XVIII.1999.29.
Amended by:
XXXI. 2002.252.
Cap. 386.79. (1) Notwithstanding any provision of this or any other
law, the provisions of this article shall have effect with rega rd to
the matters regulated thereby. 
(2) Any individual, or individuals, whether considered to be
resident in Malta or not for the purposes of any law, may const itute
an Arbitration Chamber in the form of a limited liability compa ny
under the Companies Act: so however that the provisions of the
said Act shall have effect in relation to an Arbitration Chambe r as
amended, modified or substituted by the provisions of this arti cle.
All such companies shall comprise as part of their name the wor ds
"Arbitration Chamber".
(3) The objects of an Arbitration Chamber shall be limited to
providing services of representation referred to in article 18 to
parties in international commercial arbitration under Part V of  this
Act, and services as arbitrators in such arbitration: Provided that
 34        CAP. 387. ]                        ARBITRATION
such arbitrations are administered by the Centre in accordance with
any applicable rules made by the Centre in accordance with arti cle 10.
An Arbitration Chamber shall not receive any gains, profits or
income whatsoever except fees for services rendered as aforesai d,
but the receipt of incidental income connected with the saidservices shall not be deemed to infringe this rule.
Cap. 386.(4) Each member of an Arbitration Chamber shall also be a
director thereof, and each director shall be responsible at law  for
the services rendered by the Arbitration Chamber pursuant tosubarticle (3). On the death of a member or when such member isdisqualified from acting as a director of a company under theprovisions of article 142 of the 
Companies Act, the share belonging
to such member shall be redeemed, and if following suchredemption the Arbitration Chamber fails to meet the requiremen ts
of the 
Companies Act regarding the constitution of a company, then
the Arbitration Chamber shall be liquidated.
(5) The Secretary of the Chamber shall be a person who, for an
uninterrupted period of three years, has been any of the follow ing:
Cap. 12.(i) a person holding the warrant of advocate under
the Code of Organization and Civil Procedure ;
or
Cap. 281. (ii) a person holding the warrant of a certified public
accountant or a certified public accountant andauditor under the 
Accountancy Profession Act;
or
(iii) an associate, member, or fellow of a professional
institute or similar body recognised by theCentre for the purposes of this article; or
(iv) is otherwise recognised by the Centre as a
person comparable to any of the personsaforesaid.
(6) The liquidation of an Arbitration Chamber shall be carried
out by its secretary under the supervision of the Centre, and t he
Centre shall be entitled to:
(a) nominate a secretary solely for the purpose of this
subarticle, where the Arbitration Chamber does nothave a secretary or where the secretary of the
Arbitration Chamber is not properly conducting the
liquidation;
(b) declare that an Arbitration Chamber has been
liquidated and fully wound up, whereupon the
Arbitration Chamber shall be struck off the register by
the Registrar of Companies without the need of anyfurther formalities.
(7) An Arbitration Chamber shall be registered with the Centre
in accordance with such rules as may be made by the Centre for the
purposes of this subarticle and may not commence its activitiesuntil it has been so registered. Registration shall be subject to such
annual or other fees as may be established by the Centre.
Cap. 364. (8) No duty shall be payable under the Duty on Documents and
                 ARBITRATION               [CAP. 387.       35
Transfers Act on any document relating to any transaction in
relation to any share in an Arbitration Chamber.
Cap. 233. (9) The Exchange Control Act shall not apply to any matter
relating to the constitution of an Arbitration Chamber, or to a ny
transaction or operation whatsoever relating to an ArbitrationChamber or to its shares.
Cap. 123. 
Cap. 372.(10) For the purposes of the Income Tax Act and the Income
Tax Management Act, the rate of income tax chargeable upon any
distributions made by an Arbitration Chamber shall be thatcontemplated in article 56(8) of the Income Tax Act, and a memb er
thereof if not resident in Malta receiving such a distribution shall
be entitled to the benefit contemplated in article 48(4)( a) of the
Income Tax Management Act.
(11) The Centre may make rules for the better carrying out of
any of the provisions of this article and may, in particular, b ut
without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, by any su ch
rules- 
(a) provide for the registration of an Arbitration Chamber
in accordance with subarticle (7); and
(b) regulate the conduct, duties and obligations of an
Arbitration Chamber.
Government 
authorised to accede to Treaties.
Added by:
XVIII.1999.29.Cap. 304.80. For the purposes of the Ratification of Treaties Act, the
Government is hereby authorised to accede to the treaties conta ined
in the Second and Third Schedules to this Act. 
Notification of 
awards to Director of Public Registry and Land Registrar.
Added by:
XXXI. 2002.253.Cap. 12.82. In the event of a final award which determines rights to
immovable property, the Registrar shall, upon registration, tra nsmit a
certified copy of the award to the Director of the Public Regis try and
to the Land Registrar and the provisions of articles 239 and 27 0 of the
Code of Organization and Civil Procedure shall, mutatis mutandis ,
apply to such awards.
Interest awards.
Added by:
XXXI. 2002.83.83. Unless the parties to an arbitration agreement have otherwise
agreed in writing, articles 63 and 64 shall apply to any domest ic
arbitration carried out under Part IV and to any internationalarbitration where, in accordance with article 60, the said Part  IV shall
apply.
 36        CAP. 387. ]                        ARBITRATION
                 ARBITRATION               [CAP. 387.       37
UNITED NATIONS COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE LAW: 
MODEL LAW ON INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION*
(ADOPTED, JUNE 21, 1985)
UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration
(as adopted by the United Nations Commission on International Tr ade Law on 
21 June 1985 )
CHAPTER I. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1. Scope of application†
(1) This law applies to international commercial‡ arbitration, subject to any
agreement in force between this State and any other State or St ates.
(2) The provisions of this law, except articles 8, 9, 35 and 36,  apply only if the
place of arbitration is in the territory of this State.
(3) An arbitration is international if:
(a) the parties to an arbitration agreement have, at the time of t he
conclusion of that agreement, their places of business in diffe rent
States; or
(b) one of the following places is situated outside the State in w hich the
parties have their places of business:
(i) the place of arbitration if determined in, or pursuant to, t he
arbitration agreement;
(ii) any place where a substantial part of the obligations of th e
commercial relationship is to be performed or the place withwhich the subject-matter of the dispute is most closely connect ed;
or
(c) the parties have expressly agreed that the subject-matter of t he
arbitration agreement relates to more than one country.
(4) For the purposes of paragraph (3);
(a) if a party has more than one place of business, the place of b usiness is
that which has the closest relationship to the arbitration agre ement;
(b) if a party does not have a place of business, reference is to be made to
his habitual residence.Amended by:
XVIII. 1999.30.FIRST SCHEDULE
*Reproduced from the Report from the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law on the work
of the eighteenth session (June 3-21, 1985), U.N. General Assem bly Official Records Fortieth Session,
Supplement No. 17 (A/4O/17), Annex I, pp. 81-93.†Article Headings are for the reference purposes only and are n ot to be used for purposes of interpretation.
‡ The term "commercial" should be given a wide interpretation s o as to cover matters arising from all
relationships of a commercial nature, whether contractual or no t. Relationships of a commercial nature
include, but are not limited to, the following transactions: an y trade transaction for the supply or exchange of
goods or services; distribution agreement; commercial represent ation or agency; factoring; leasing;
construction of works; consulting; engineering; licensing; inve stments; financing; banking; insurance;
exploitation agreement or concession; joint venture and other f orms of industrial or business co-operation;
carriage of goods or passengers by air, sea, rail or road.
 38        CAP. 387. ]                        ARBITRATION
(5) This Law shall not effect any other law of this State by vir tue of which
certain disputes may not be submitted to arbitration or may be submitted to
arbitration only according to provisions other than those of th is Law.
Article 2. Definition and Rules of Interpretation
For the purposes of this Law:
(a) "arbitration" means any arbitration whether or not administere d by a
permanent arbitral institution;
(b) "arbitral tribunal" means a sole arbitrator or a panel of arbi trators;
(c) "court" means a body or organ of the judicial system of a Stat e;
(d) where a provision of this Law, except article 28, leaves the p arties free
to determine a certain issue, such freedom includes the right o f the
parties to authorise a third party, including an institution, t o make that
determination;
(e) where a provision of this Law refers to the fact that the part ies have
agreed or that they may agree or in any other way refers to an agreement
of the parties, such agreement includes any arbitration rules r eferred to
in that agreement;
(f) where a provision of this Law, other than in articles 25 ( a) and 32 (2)
(a), refers to a claim, it also applies to a counter-claim, and w here it
refers to a defence, it also applies to a defence to such count er-claim.
Article 3. Receipt of written communications
(1) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties:
(a) any written communication is deemed to have been received if i t is
delivered to the addressee personally or if it is delivered at his place of
business, habitual residence or mailing address; if none of the se can be
found after making a reasonable inquiry, a written communicatio n is
deemed to have been received if it is sent to the addressee’s l ast-known
place of business, habitual residence or mailing address by reg istered
letter or any other means which provides a record of the attemp t to
deliver it;
(b) the communication is deemed to have been received on the day i t is so
delivered.
(2) The provisions of this article do not apply to communication s in court
proceedings.
Article 4. Waiver of right to object
 A party who knows that any provisions of this Law from which t he parties may
derogate or any requirement under the arbitration agreement has  not been complied
with and yet proceeds with the arbitration without stating his objection to such non-
compliance without undue delay or, if a time-limit is provided therefor, within such
period of time, shall be deemed to have waived his right to obj ect.
Article 5. Extent of court intervention
In matters governed by this Law, no court shall intervene excep t where so
provided in this Law.
Article 6. Court or other authority for certain functions of arbitration
assistance and supervision
The functions referred to in articles 11(3), 11(4), 13 (3), 14,  16 (3) and 34 (2) shall
                 ARBITRATION               [CAP. 387.       39
be performed by.............[Each State enacting this model law  specifies the court,
courts or, where referred to therein, other authority competent  to perform these
functions.]
CHAPTER II. ARBITRATION AGREEMENT
Article 7. Definition and form of arbitration agreement
(1) "Arbitration agreement" is an agreement by the parties to su bmit to
arbitration all or certain disputes which have arisen or which may arise between
them in respect of a defined legal relationship, whether contra ctual or not. An
arbitration agreement may be in the form of an arbitration clau se in a contract or in
the form of a separate agreement.
(2) The arbitration agreement shall be in writing. An agreement is in writing if
it is contained in a document signed by the parties or in an ex change of letters, telex,
telegrams or other means of telecommunication which provide a r ecord of the
agreement, or in an exchange of statements of claim and defence  in which the
existence of an agreement is alleged by one party and not denie d by another. The
reference in a contract to a document containing an arbitration  clause constitutes an
arbitration agreement provided that the contract is in writing and the reference is
such as to make that clause part of the contract.
Article 8. Arbitration agreement and substantive claim before court
(1) A court before which an action is brought in a matter which is the subject of
an arbitration agreement shall, if a party so requests not late r than when submitting
his first statement on the substance of the dispute, refer the parties to arbitration
unless it finds that the agreement is null and void, inoperativ e or incapable of being
performed.
(2) Where an action referred to in paragraph (1) has been brough t, arbitral
proceedings may nevertheless be commenced or continued and an a ward may be
made, while the issue is pending before the court.
Article 9. Arbitration agreement and interim measures by court
It is not incompatible with an arbitration agreement for a part y to request, before
or during arbitral proceedings, from a court an interim measure  of protection and for
a court to grant such measure.
CHAPTER III. COMPOSITION OF ARBITRAL TRIBUNAL
Article 10. Number of arbitrators
(1) The parties are free to determine the number of arbitrators.(2) Failing such determination, the number of arbitrators shall be three.
Article 11. Appointment of arbitrators
(1) No person shall be precluded by reason of his nationality fr om acting as an
arbitrator, unless otherwise agreed by the parties.
(2) The parties are free to agree on a procedure of appointing t he arbitrator or
arbitrators, subject to the provisions of paragraphs (4) and (5 ).
(3) Failing such agreement,
(a) in an arbitration with three arbitrators, each party shall app oint one
 40        CAP. 387. ]                        ARBITRATION
arbitrator, and the two arbitrators thus appointed shall appoin t the third
arbitrator; if a party fails to appoint the arbitrator within t hirty days of
receipt of a request to do so from the other party, or if the t wo
arbitrators fail to agree on the third arbitrator within thirty  days of their
appointment, the appointment shall be made, upon request of a p arty, by
the court or other authority specified in article 6;
(b) in an arbitration with a sole arbitrator, if the parties are u nable to agree
on the arbitrator, he shall be appointed, upon request of a par ty, by the
court or other authority specified in article 6.
(4) Where, under an appointment procedure agreed upon by the par ties,
(a) a party fails to act as required under such procedure, or
(b) the parties, or two arbitrators, are unable to reach an agreem ent
expected of them under such procedure, or
(c) a third party, including an institution, fails to perform any function
entrusted to it under such procedure,
any party may request the court or other authority specified in  article 6 to take the
necessary measure, unless the agreement on the appointment proc edure provides
other means for securing the appointment.
(5) A decision on a matter entrusted by paragraph (3) or (4) to the court or other
authority specified in article 6 shall be subject to no appeal.  The court or other
authority, in appointing an arbitrator, shall have due regard t o any qualifications
required of the arbitrator by the agreement of the parties and to such considerations
as are likely to secure the appointment of an independent and i mpartial arbitrator
and, in the case of a sole or third arbitrator, shall take into  account as well the
advisability of appointing an arbitrator of a nationality other  than those of the
parties.
Article 12. Grounds for challenge
(1) When a person is approached in connection with his possible appointment as
an arbitrator, he shall disclose any circumstances likely to gi ve rise to justifiable
doubts as to his impartiality or independence. An arbitrator, f rom the time of his
appointment and throughout the arbitral proceedings, shall with out delay disclose
any such circumstances to the parties unless they have already been informed of
them by him.
(2) An arbitrator may be challenged only if circumstances exist that give rise to
justifiable doubts as to his impartiality or independence, or i f he does not possess
qualifications agreed to by the parties. A party may challenge an arbitrator appointed
by him, or in whose appointment he has participated, only for r easons of which he
becomes aware after the appointment has been made.
Article 13. Challenge procedure
(1) The parties are free to agree on a procedure for challenging  an arbitrator,
subject to the provisions of paragraph (3).
(2) Failing such agreement, a party who intends to challenge an arbitrator shall,
within fifteen days after becoming aware of the constitution of  the arbitral tribunal
or after becoming aware of any circumstances referred to in art icle 12 (2), send a
written statement of the reasons for the challenge to the arbit ral tribunal. Unless the
challenged arbitrator withdraws from his office or the other pa rty agrees to the
challenge, the arbitral tribunal shall decide on the challenge.
(3) If a challenge under any procedure agreed upon by the partie s or under the
                 ARBITRATION               [CAP. 387.       41
procedure of paragraph (2) is not successful, the challenging p arty may request,
within thirty days after having received notice of the decision  rejecting the
challenge, the court or other authority specified in article 6 to decide on the
challenge, which decision shall be subject to no appeal; while such a request is
pending, the arbitral tribunal, including the challenged arbitr ator, may continue the
arbitral proceedings and make an award.
Article 14. Failure or impossibility to act
(1) If an arbitrator becomes de jure or de facto  unable to perform his functions
or for other reasons fails to act without undue delay, his mand ate terminates if he
withdraws from his office or if the parties agree on the termin ation. Otherwise, if a
controversy remains concerning any of these grounds, any party may request the
court or other authority specified in article 6 to decide on th e termination of the
mandate, which decision shall be subject to no appeal.
(2) If, under this article or article 13 (2), an arbitrator with draws from his office
or a party agrees to the termination of the mandate of an arbit rator, this does not
imply acceptance of the validity of any ground referred to in t his article or article 12
(2).
Article 15. Appointment of substitute arbitrator
 Where the mandate of an arbitrator terminates under article 13  or 14 or because of
his withdrawal from office for an y other reason or because of t he revocation of his
mandate by agreement of the parties or in any other case of ter mination of his
mandate, a substitute arbitrator shall be appointed according t o the rules that were
applicable to the appointment of the arbitrator being replaced.
CHAPTER IV . JURISDICTION OF ARBITRAL TRIBUNAL
Article 16. Competence of arbitral tribunal to rule on its jurisdiction
(1) The arbitral tribunal may rule on its own jurisdiction, incl uding any
objections with respect to the existence or validity of the arb itration agreement. For
that purpose, an arbitration clause which forms part of a contr act shall be treated as
an agreement independent of the other terms of the contract. A decision by the
arbitral tribunal that the contract is null and void shall not entail ipso jure  the
invalidity of the arbitration clause.
(2) A plea that the arbitral tribunal does not have jurisdiction  shall be raised not
later than the submission of the statement of defence. A party is not precluded from
raising such a plea by the fact that he has appointed, or parti cipated in the
appointment of, an arbitrator. A plea that the arbitral tribuna l is exceeding the scope
of its authority shall be raised as soon as the matter alleged to be beyond the scope of
its authority is raised during the arbitral proceedings. The ar bitral tribunal may, in
either case, admit a later plea if it considers the delay justi fied.
(3) The arbitral tribunal may rule on a plea referred to in para graph (2) either as
a preliminary question or in an award on the merits. If the arb itral tribunal rules as a
preliminary question that it has jurisdiction, any part may req uest, within thirty days
after having received notice of  that ruling, the court specifie d in article 6 to decide
the matter, which decision shall be subject to no appeal; while  such a request is
pending, the arbitral tribunal may continue the arbitral procee dings and make an
award.
Article 17. Power of arbitral tribunal to order interim measures
 Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the arbitral tribunal may, at the request of
 42        CAP. 387. ]                        ARBITRATION
a party, order any party to take such interim measure of protec tion as the arbitral
tribunal may consider necessary in respect of the subject-matte r of the dispute. The
arbitral tribunal may require any party to provide appropriate security in connection
with such measure.
CHAPTER V . CONDUCT OF ARBITRAL PROCEEDINGS
Article 18. Equal treatment of parties
 The parties shall be treated with equality and each party shal l be given a full
opportunity of presenting his case.
Article 19. Determination of rules of procedure
(1) Subject to the provisions of this Law, the parties are free to agree on the
procedure to be followed by the arbitral tribunal in conducting  the proceedings.
(2) Failing such agreement, the arbitral tribunal may, subject t o the provisions
of this Law, conduct the arbitration in such manner as it consi ders appropriate. The
power conferred upon the arbitral tribunal includes the power t o determine the
admissibility, relevance, materiality and weight of any evidenc e.
Article 20. Place of arbitration
(1) The parties are free to agree on the place of arbitration. F ailing such
agreement, the place of arbitration shall be determined by the arbitral tribunal having
regard to the circumstances of the case, including the convenie nce of the parties.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1), the arbitra l tribunal may,
unless otherwise agreed by the parties, meet at any place it co nsiders appropriate for
consultation among its members, for hearing witnesses, experts or the parties, or for
inspection of goods, other property or documents.
Article 21. Commencement of arbitral proceedings
 Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the arbitral proceedin gs in respect of a
particular dispute commence on the date on which a request for that dispute to be
referred to arbitration is received by the respondent.
Article 22. Language
(1) The parties are free to agree on the language or languages t o be used in the
arbitral proceedings. Failing such agreement, the arbitral trib unal shall determine the
language or languages to be used in the proceedings. This agree ment or
determination, unless otherwise specified therein, shall apply to any written
statement by a party, any hearing and any award, decision or ot her communication
by the arbitral tribunal.
(2) The arbitral tribunal may order that any documentary evidenc e shall be
accompanied by a translation into the language or languages agr eed upon by the
parties or determined by the arbitral tribunal.
Article 23. Statement of claim and defence
(1) Within the period of time agreed by the parties or determine d by the arbitral
tribunal, the claimant shall state the facts supporting the cla im, the points at issue
and the relief of remedy sought, and the respondent shall state  his defence in respect
of these particulars, unless the parties have otherwise agreed as to the required
elements of such statements. The parties may submit with their statements all
documents they consider to be relevant or may add a reference t o the documents or
other evidence they will submit.
                 ARBITRATION               [CAP. 387.       43
(2) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, either party may ame nd or
supplement his claim or defence during the course of the arbitr al proceedings, unless
the arbitral tribunal considers it inappropriate to allow such amendment having
regard to the delay in making it.
Article 24. Hearing and written proceedings
(1) Subject to any contrary agreement by the parties, the arbitr al tribunal shall
decide whether to hold oral hearings for the presentation of ev idence or for oral
argument, or whether the proceedings shall be conducted on the basis of documents
and other materials. However, unless the parties have agreed th at no hearings shall
be held, the arbitral tribunal sh all hold such hearings at an a ppropriate stage of the
proceedings, if so requested by a party.
(2) The parties shall be given sufficient advance notice of any hearing and of
any meeting of the arbitral tribunal for the purposes of inspec tion of goods, other
property or documents.
(3) All statements, documents or other information supplied to t he arbitral
tribunal by one party shall be communicated to the other party.  Also any expert
report or evidentiary document on which the arbitral tribunal m ay rely in making its
decision shall be communicated to the parties.
Article 25. Default of a party
Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, if, without showing suf ficient cause,
(a) the claimant fails to communicate his statement of claim in ac cordance
with article 23 (1), the arbitral tribunal shall terminate the proceedings;
(b) the respondent fails to communicate his statement of defence i n
accordance with article 23 (1), the arbitral tribunal shall con tinue the
proceedings without treating such failure in itself as an admis sion of the
claimant’s allegations;
(c) any party fails to appear at a hearing or to produce documenta ry
evidence, the arbitral tribunal may continue the proceedings an d make
the award on the evidence before it.
Article 26. Expert appointed by arbitral tribunal
(1) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the arbitral tribuna l,
(a) may appoint one or more experts to report to it on specific is sues to be
determined by the arbitral tribunal;
(b) may require a party to give the expert any relevant informatio n or to
produce, or to provide access to, any relevant documents, goods  or other
property for his inspection.
(2) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, if a party so reques ts or if the
arbitral tribunal considers it necessary, the expert shall, aft er delivery of his written
or oral report, participate in a hearing where the parties have  the opportunity to put
questions to him and to present e xpert witnesses in order to te stify on the points at
issue.
Article 27. Court assistance in taking evidence
 The arbitral tribunal or a party with the approval of the arbi tral tribunal may
request from a competent court of this State assistance in taki ng evidence. The court
may execute the request within its competence and according to its rules on taking
evidence.
 44        CAP. 387. ]                        ARBITRATION
CHAPTER VI. MAKING OF AWARD AND TERMINATION OF PROCEEDINGS
Article 28. Rules applicable to substance of dispute
(1) The arbitral tribunal shall decide the dispute in accordance  with such rules
of law as are chosen by the parties as applicable to the substa nce of the dispute. Any
designation of the law or legal system of a given State shall b e construed, unless
otherwise expressed, as directly referring to the substantive l aw of that State and not
to its conflict of laws rules.
(2) Failing any designation by the parties, the arbitral tribuna l shall apply the
law determined by the conflict of laws rules which it considers  applicable.
(3) The arbitral tribunal shall decide ex aequo et bono  or as amiable
compositeur only if the parties have expressly authorised it to do so.
(4) In all cases, the arbitral tribunal shall decide in accordan ce with the terms of
the contract and shall take into account the usages of the trad e applicable to the
transaction.
Article 29. Decision-making by panel of arbitrators
 In arbitral proceedings with more than one arbitrator, any dec ision of the arbitral
tribunal shall be made, unless otherwise agreed by the parties,  by a majority of all its
members. However, questions of procedure may be decided by a pr esiding arbitrator,
if so authorised by the parties or all members of the arbitral tribunal.
Article 30. Settlement
(1) If, during arbitral proceedings, the parties settle the disp ute, the arbitral
tribunal shall terminate the proceedings and, if requested by t he parties and not
objected to by the arbitral tribunal, record the settlement in the form of an arbitral
award on agreed terms.
(2) An award on agreed terms shall be made in accordance with th e provisions
of article 31 and shall state that it is an award. Such an awar d has the same status and
effect as any other award on the merits of the case.
Article 31. Form and contents of award
(1) The award shall be made in writing and shall be signed by th e arbitrator or
arbitrators. In arbitral proceedings with more than one arbitra tor, the signatures of
the majority of all members of the arbitral tribunal shall suff ice, provided that the
reason for any omitted signature is stated.
(2) The award shall state the reasons upon which it is based, un less the parties
have agreed that no reasons are to be given or the award is an award on agreed terms
under article 30.
(3) The award shall state its date and the place of arbitration as determined in
accordance with article 20 (1). The award shall be deemed to ha ve been made at that
place.
(4) After the award is made, a copy signed by the arbitrators in  accordance with
paragraph (1) shall be delivered to each party.
Article 32. Termination of proceedings
(1) The arbitral proceedings are terminated by the final award o r by an order of
the arbitral tribunal in accordance with paragraph (2).
(2) The arbitral tribunal shall issue an order for the terminati on of the arbitral
proceedings when:
                 ARBITRATION               [CAP. 387.       45
(a) the claimant withdraws his claim, unless the respondent object s thereto
and the arbitral tribunal recognises a legitimate interest on h is part in
obtaining a final settlement of the dispute;
(b) the parties agree on the termination of the proceedings;
(c) the arbitral tribunal finds that the continuation of the proce edings has
for any other reason become unnecessary or impossible.
(3) The mandate of the arbitral tribunal terminates with the ter mination of the
arbitral proceedings, subject to the provisions of articles 33 and 34 (4).
Article 33. Correction and interpretation of award, additional award
(1) Within thirty days of receipt of the award, unless another p eriod of time has
been agreed upon by the parties:
(a) a party, with notice to the other party, may request the arbit ral tribunal
to correct in the award any errors in computation, any clerical  o r
typographical errors or any errors of similar nature;
(b) if so agreed by the parties, a party, with notice to the other  party, may
request the arbitral tribunal to give an interpretation of a sp ecific point
or part of the award.
 If the arbitral tribunal considers the request to be justified , it shall make the
correction or give the interpretation within thirty days of rec eipt of the request. The
interpretation shall form part of the award.
(2) The arbitral tribunal may correct any error of the type refe rred to in
paragraph (1) ( a) on its own initiative within thirty days of the date of the a ward.
(3) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, a party, with notice  to the other
party, may request, within thirty days of receipt of the award,  the arbitral tribunal to
make an additional award as to claims presented in the arbitral  proceedings but
omitted from the award. If the arbitral tribunal considers the request to be justified,
it shall make the additional award within sixty days.
(4) The arbitral tribunal may extend, if necessary, the period o f time within
which it shall make a correction, interpretation or an addition al award under
paragraph (1) or (3).
(5) The provisions of article 31 shall apply to a correction or interpretation of
the award or to an additional award.
CHAPTER VII. RECOURSE AGAINST AWARD
Article 34. Application for setting aside as exclusive recourse against arb itral
award
(1) Recourse to a court against an arbitral award may be made on ly by an
application for setting aside in accordance with paragraphs (2)  and (3).
(2) An arbitral award may be set aside by the court specified in  article 6 only if:
(a) the party making the application furnishes proof that:
(i) a party to the arbitration agreement referred to in article 7 was
under some incapacity; or the said agreement is not valid underthe law to which the parties have subjected it or, failing anyindication thereon, under the law of this State; or
(ii) the party making the application was not given proper notic e of
 46        CAP. 387. ]                        ARBITRATION
the appointment of an arbitrator or of the arbitral proceedings  or
was otherwise unable to present his case; or
(iii) the award deals with a dispute not contemplated by or not falling
within the terms of the submission to arbitration, or containsdecisions on matters beyond the scope of the submission toarbitration, provided that, if the decisions on matters submitt ed to
arbitration can be separated from those not so submitted, only that
part of the award which contains decisions on matters notsubmitted to arbitration may be set aside; or
(iv) the composition of the arbitral tribunal or the arbitral pr ocedure
was not in accordance with the agreement of the parties, unlesssuch agreement was in conflict with a provision of this Law fro m
which the parties cannot derogate, or, failing such agreement, was
not in accordance with this Law; or
(b) the court finds that:
(i) the subject-matter of the dispute is not capable of settleme nt by
arbitration under the law of this State; or
(ii) the award is in conflict with the public policy of this Sta te.
(3) An application for setting aside may not be made after three  months have
elapsed from the date on which the party making that applicatio n had received the
award or, if a request had been made under article 33, from the  date on which that
request had been disposed of by the Arbitration Tribunal.
(4) The court, when asked to set aside an award, may, where appr opriate and so
requested by a party, suspend the setting aside proceedings for  a period of time
determined by it in order to give the arbitral tribunal an oppo rtunity to resume the
arbitral proceedings or to take such action as in the arbitral tribunal’s opinion will
eliminate the grounds for setting aside.
CHAPTER VIII. RECOGNITION AND ENFORCEMENT OF AWARDS
Article 35. Recognition and Enforcement
(1) An arbitral award, irrespective of the country in which it w as made, shall be
recognised as binding and, upon application in writing to the c ompetent court, shall
be enforced subject to the provisions of this article and of ar ticle 36.
(2) The party relying on an award or applying for its enforcemen t shall supply
the duly authenticated original award or a duly certified copy thereof, and the
original arbitration agreement referred to in article 7 or a du ly certified copy thereof.
If the award or agreement is not made in an official language o f this State, the party
shall supply a duly certified translation thereof into such lan guage.
*
Article 36. Grounds for refusing recognition or enforcement
(1) Recognition or enforcement of an arbitral award, irrespectiv e of the country
in which it was made, may be refused only:
(a) at the request of the party against whom it is invoked, if tha t party
furnishes to the competent court where recognition or enforceme nt is
sought proof that:
*The conditions set forth in this paragraph are intended to set  maximum standards. It would, thus, not be
contrary to the harmonization to be achieved by the Model Law i f a State retained even less onerous
conditions.
                 ARBITRATION               [CAP. 387.       47
(i) a party to the arbitration agreement referred to in article 7 was
under some incapacity; or the said agreement is not valid underthe law to which the parties have subjected it or, failing anyindication thereon, under the law of the country where the awar d
was made; or
(ii) the party against whom the award is invoked was not given p roper
notice of the appointment of an arbitrator or of the arbitralproceedings or was otherwise unable to present his case; or
(iii) the award deals with a dispute not contemplated by or not falling
within the terms of the submission to arbitration, or it contai ns
decisions on matters beyond the scope of the submission toarbitration, provided that, if the decision on matters submitte d to
arbitration can be separated from those not so submitted, that part
of the award which contains decisions on matters submitted toarbitration may be recognised and enforced; or
(iv) the composition of the arbitral tribunal or the arbitral pr ocedure
was not in accordance with the agreement of the parties or, fai ling
such agreement, was not in accordance with the law of the count ry
where the arbitration took place; or
(v) the award has not yet become binding on the parties or has b een
set aside or suspended by a court of the country in which, or u nder
the law of which, that award was made; or
(b) if the court finds that:
(i) the subject-matter of the dispute is not capable of settleme nt by
arbitration under the law of this State; or
(ii) the recognition or enforcement of the award would be contra ry to
the public policy of this State.
(2) If an application for setting aside or suspension of an awar d has been made
to a court referred to in paragraph (1) ( a) (v), the court where recognition or
enforcement is sought may, if it considers it proper, adjourn i ts decision and may
also, on the application of the party claiming recognition or e nforcement of the
award, order the other party to provide appropriate security.
 48        CAP. 387. ]                        ARBITRATION
The undersigned, being duly authorised, declare that they accep t, on behalf
of the countries which they represent, the following provisions :
(1) Each of the Contracting States recognises the validity of an  agreement
whether relating to existing or future differences between part ies, subject
respectively to the jurisdiction of different Contracting State s by which the parties to
a contract agree to submit to arbitration all or any difference s that may arise in
connection with such contract relating to commercial matters or  to any other matter
capable of settlement by arbitration, whether or not the arbitr ation is to take place in
a country to whose jurisdiction none of the parties is subject.
Each Contracting State reserves the right to limit the obligati on mentioned
above to contracts which are considered as commercial under its  national law. Any
Contracting State which avails itself of this right will notify  the Secretary-General of
the League of Nations, in order that the other Contracting Stat es may be so informed.
(2) The arbitral procedure, including the constitution of the ar bitral tribunal,
shall be governed by the will of the parties and by the law of the country in whose
territory the arbitration takes place.
The Contracting States agree to facilitate all steps in the pro cedure which
require to be taken in their own territories, in accordance wit h the provisions of their
law governing arbitral procedure applicable to existing differe nces.
(3) Each Contracting State undertakes to ensure the execution by  its authorities
and in accordance with the provisions of its national laws of a rbitral awards made in
its own territory under the preceding articles.
(4) The tribunals of the Contracting Parties, on being seized of  a dispute
regarding a contract made between persons to whom Article I app lies and including
an Arbitration Agreement whether referring to present or future  differences which is
valid in virtue of the said article and capable of being carrie d into effect, shall refer
the parties on the application of either of them to the decisio n of the arbitrators.
Such reference shall not prejudice the competence of the judici al tribunals in
case the agreement or the arbitration cannot proceed or becomes  inoperative.
(5) The present Protocol, which shall remain open for signature by all States,
shall be ratified. The ratifications shall be deposited as soon  as possible with the
Secretary-General of the League of Nations, who shall notify su ch deposit to all the
Signatory States.
(6) The present Protocol will come into force as soon as two rat ifications have
been deposited. Thereafter it will take effect, in the case of each Contracting State,
one month after the notification by the Secretary-General of th e deposit of
ratification.
(7) The present Protocol may be denounced by any Contracting Sta te on giving
one year’s notice. Denunciation s hall be effected by a notifica tion addressed to the
Secretary-General of the League, who will immediately transmit copies of such
notification to all the other Signatory States and inform them of the date on which it
was received. The denunciation shall take effect one year after  the date on which itSECOND SCHEDULE Amended by:
XVIII. 1999.31.Substituted by:L.N. 304 of 2004.Part I
PROTOCOL ON ARBITRATION CLAUSES 
(GENEV A 1923)
                 ARBITRATION               [CAP. 387.       49
was notified to the Secretary-General, and shall operate only i n respect of the
notifying State.
(8) The Contracting States may declare that their acceptance of the present
Protocol does not include any or all of the under-mentioned ter ritories: that is to say,
their colonies, overseas possessions or territories, protectora tes or the territories over
which they exercise a mandate.
The said States may subsequently adhere separately on behalf of  any
territory thus excluded. The Secretary-General of the League of  Nations shall be
informed as soon as possible of such adhesions. He shall notify  such adhesions to all
Signatory States. They will take effect one month after the not ification by the
Secretary-General to all Signatory States.
The Contracting States may also denounce the Protocol separatel y on behalf
of any of the territories referred to above. Article 7 applies to such denunciation.
Part II
CONVENTION ON THE EXECUTION OF FOREIGN ARBITRAL AWARDS 
(GENEV A 1927)
Article 1
In the territories of any High Contracting Party to which the p resent
Convention applies, all arbitral awards made in pursuance of an  agreement whether
relating to existing or future differences (hereinafter called "a submission to
arbitration") covered by the Protocol on Arbitration Clauses, o pened at Geneva on
September 24, 1923, shall be recognised as binding and shall be  enforced in
accordance with the rules of the procedure of the territory whe re the award is relied
upon, provided that the said award has been made in a territory  of one of the High
Contracting Parties to which the present Convention applies and  between persons
who are subject to the jurisdiction of one of the High Contract ing Parties.
To obtain such recognition or enforcement, it shall, further, b e necessary:
(a) That the award has been made in pursuance of a submission to
arbitration which is valid under the law applicable thereto;
(b) That the subject-matter of the award is capable of settlemen t by
arbitration under the law of the country in which the award is sought to
be relied upon;
(c) That the award has been made by the Arbitral Tribunal provid ed for in
the submission to arbitration or constituted in the manner agre ed upon
by the parties and in conformity with the law governing the arb itration
procedure;
(d) That the award has become final in the country in which it h as been
made, in the sense that it will not be considered as such if it  is open to
opposition, appeal or pourvoi en cassation (in the countries where such
forms of procedure exist) or if it is proved that any proceedin gs for the
purpose of contesting the validity of the award are pending;
(e) That the recognition or enforcement of the award is not cont rary to the
public policy or to the principles of the law of the country in  which it is
sought to be relied upon.
Article 2
Even if the conditions laid down in Article 1 hereof are fulfil led, recognition
and enforcement of the award shall be refused if the Court is s atisfied:
 50        CAP. 387. ]                        ARBITRATION
(a) That the award has been annulled in the country in which it was made;
(b) That the party against whom it is sought to use the award wa s not given
notice of the arbitration proceedings in sufficient time to ena ble him to
present his case; or that, being under a legal incapacity, he w as not
properly represented;
(c) That the award does not deal with the differences contemplat ed by or
falling within the terms of the submission to arbitration or th at it
contains decisions on matters beyond the scope of the submissio n to
arbitration.
If the award has not covered all the questions submitted to the  arbitral
tribunal, the competent authority of the country where recognit ion or enforcement of
the award is sought can, if it thinks fit, postpone such recogn ition or enforcement or
grant it subject to such guarantee as that authority may decide .
Article 3
If the party against whom the award has been made proves that u nder the
law governing the arbitration procedure, there is a ground, oth er than the grounds
referred to in Article 1 (a) and (c), and Article 2 (b) and (c) , entitling him to contest
the validity of the award in a Court of Law, the Court may, if it thinks fit, either
refuse recognition or enforcement of the award or adjourn the c onsideration thereof,
giving such party a reasonable time within which to have the aw ard annulled by the
competent tribunal.
Article 4
The party relying upon an award or claiming its enforcement mus t supply, in
particular:
(1) The original award or a copy thereof duly authenticated, acc ording to
the requirements of the law of the country in which it was made ;
(2) Documentary or other evidence to prove that the award has be come
final, in the sense defined in Article 1 (d), in the country in  which it was
made;
(3) When necessary, documentary or other evidence to prove that the
condition laid down in Article 1, paragraph 1 and paragraph 2 ( a) and
(c), have been fulfilled.
A translation of the award and of the other documents mentioned  in the
Article into the official language of the country where the awa rd is sought to be
relied upon may be demanded. Such translation must be certified  correct by a
diplomatic or consular agent of the country to which the party who seeks to rely
upon the award belongs or by a sworn translator of the country where the award is
sought to be relied upon.
Article 5
The provisions of the above Articles shall not deprive any inte rested party of
the right of availing himself of an arbitral award in the manne r and to the extent
allowed by the law or the treaties of the country where such aw ard is sought to be
relied upon.
Article 6
The present Convention applies only to arbitral awards made aft er the
coming into force of the Protocol on Arbitration Clauses, opene d at Geneva on
September 24, 1923.
                 ARBITRATION               [CAP. 387.       51
Article 7
The present Convention, which will remain open to the signature  of all the
signatories of the Protocol of 1923 on Arbitration Clauses, sha ll be ratified.
It may be ratified only on behalf of those Members of the Leagu e of Nations
and non-Member States on whose behalf the Protocol of 1923 shal l have been
ratified.
Ratifications shall be deposited as soon as possible with the S ecretary-
General of the League of Nations, who will notify such deposit to all the signatories.
Article 8
The present Convention shall come into force three months after  it shall
have been ratified on behalf of two High Contracting Parties. T hereafter, it shall take
effect, in the case of each High Contracting Party, three month s after the deposit of
the ratification on its behalf with the Secretary-General of th e League of Nations.
Article 9
The present Convention may be denounced on behalf of any Member  of the
League or non-Member State. Denunciation shall be notified in w riting to the
Secretary-General of the League of Nations, who will immediatel y send a copy
thereof, certified to be in conformity with the notification, t o all the other
Contracting Parties, at the same time informing them of the dat e on which he
received it.
The denunciation shall come into force only in respect of the H igh
Contracting Party which shall have notified it and one year aft er such notification
shall have reached the Secretary-General of the League of Natio ns. The denunciation
of the Protocol on Arbitration Clauses shall entail, ipso facto , the denunciation of the
present Convention.
Article 10
The present Convention does not apply to the Colonies, Protecto rates or
territories under suzerainty or mandate of any High Contracting  Party unless they are
specially mentioned.
The application of this Convention to one or more of such Colon ies,
Protectorates or territories to which the Protocol on Arbitrati on Clauses, opened at
Geneva on September 24, 1923, applies, can be affected at any t ime by means of a
declaration addressed to the Secretary-General of the League of  Nations by one of
the High Contracting Parties.
Such declaration shall take effect three months after the depos it thereof.
The High Contracting Parties can at any time denounce the Conve ntion for
all or any of the Colonies, Protectorates or territories referr ed to above. Article 9
hereof applies to such denunciation.
Article 11
A certified copy of the present Convention shall be transmitted  by the
Secretary-General of the League of Nations to every Member of t he League of
Nations and to every non-Member State which signs the same.
In faith whereof the above-named Plenipotentiaries have signed the present
Convention.
DONE AT Geneva, on the twenty-sixth day of September one thousa nd nine
hundred and twenty- seven, in a single copy, of which the Engli sh and French texts
 52        CAP. 387. ]                        ARBITRATION
are both authentic, and which will be kept in the archives of t he League of Nations.
Part III
CONVENTION ON THE RECOGNITION AND ENFORCEMENT OF 
FOREIGN ARBITRAL AWARDS (NEW YORK 1958)
ARTICLE I
1. This Convention shall apply to the recognition and enforcemen t of arbitral
awards made in the territory of a State other than the State wh ere the recognition and
enforcement of such awards are sought, and arising out of diffe rences between
persons, whether physical or legal. It shall also apply to arbi tral awards not
considered as domestic awards in the State where their recognit ion and enforcement
are sought.
2. The term "arbitral awards" shall include not only awards made  by arbitrators
appointed for each case but also those made by permanent arbitr al bodies to which
the parties have submitted.
3. When signing, ratifying or acceding to this Convention, or no tifying
extension under article X hereof, any State may on the basis of  reciprocity declare
that it will apply the Convention to the recognition and enforc ement of awards made
only in the territory of another Contracting State. It may also  declare that it will
apply the Convention only to differences arising out of legal r elationships, whether
contractual or not, which are considered as commercial under th e national law of the
State making such declaration.
ARTICLE II
1. Each Contracting State shall recognize an agreement in writin g under which
the parties undertake to submit to arbitration all or any diffe rences which have arisen
or which may arise between them in respect of a defined legal r elationship, whether
contractual or not, concerning a subject matter capable of sett lement by arbitration.
2. The term "agreement in writing" shall include an arbitral cla use in a contract
or an arbitration agreement, signed by the parties or contained  in an exchange of
letters or telegrams.
3. The court of a Contracting State, when seized of an action in  a matter in
respect of which the parties have made an agreement within the meaning of this
article, shall, at the request of one of the parties, refer the  parties to arbitration,
unless it finds that the said agreement is null and void, inope rative or incapable of
being performed.
ARTICLE III
Each Contracting State shall recognize arbitral awards as bindi ng and
enforce them in accordance with the rules of procedure of the t erritory where the
award is relied upon, under the conditions laid down in the fol lowing articles. There
shall not be imposed substantially more onerous conditions or h igher fees or charges
on the recognition or enforcement of arbitral awards to which t his Convention
applies than are imposed on the recognition or enforcement of d omestic arbitral
awards.
ARTICLE IV
1. To obtain the recognition and enforcement mentioned in the pr eceding
article, the party applying for recognition and enforcement sha ll, at the time of the
application, supply:
(a) The duly authenticated original award or a duly certified co py thereof;
                 ARBITRATION               [CAP. 387.       53
(b) The original agreement referred to in Article II or a duly c ertified copy
thereof.
2. If the said award or agreement is not made in an official lan guage of the
country in which the award is relied upon, the party applying f or recognition and
enforcement of the award shall produce a translation of these d ocuments into such
language. The translation shall be certified by an official or sworn translator or by a
diplomatic or consular agent.
ARTICLE V
1. Recognition and enforcement of the award may be refused, at t he request of
the party against whom it is invoked, only if that party furnis hes to the competent
authority where the recognition and enforcement is sought, proo f that:
(a) The parties to the agreement referred to in Article II were,  under the law
applicable to them, under some incapacity, or the said agreemen t is not
valid under the law to which the parties have subjected it or, failing any
indication thereon, under the law of the country where the awar d was
made; or
(b) The party against whom the award is invoked was not given pr oper
notice of the appointment of the arbitrator or of the arbitrati on
proceedings or was otherwise unable to present his case; or
(c) The award deals with a difference not contemplated by or not  falling
within the terms of the submission to arbitration, or it contai ns decisions
on matters beyond the scope of the submission to arbitration, p rovided
that, if the decisions on matters submitted to arbitration can be
separated from those not so submitted, that part of the award w hich
contains decisions on matters submitted to arbitration may berecognized and enforced; or
(d) The composition of the arbitral authority or the arbitral pr ocedure was
not in accordance with the agreement of the parties, or, failin g such
agreement, was not in accordance with the law of the country wh ere the
arbitration took place; or
(e) The award has not yet become binding on the parties, or has been set
aside or suspended by a competent authority of the country in w hich, or
under the law of which, that award was made.
2. Recognition and enforcement of an arbitral award may also be refused if the
competent authority in the country where recognition and enforc ement is sought
finds that:
(a) The subject matter of the difference is not capable of settl ement by
arbitration under the law of that country; or
(b) The recognition or enforcement of the award would be contrar y to the
public policy of that country.
ARTICLE VI
If an application for the setting aside or suspension of the aw ard has been
made to a competent authority referred to in Article V (1)(e), the authority before
which the award is sought to be relied upon may, if it consider s it proper, adjourn the
decision on the enforcement of the award and may also, on the a pplication of the
party claiming enforcement of the award, order the other party to give suitable
security.
ARTICLE VII
 54        CAP. 387. ]                        ARBITRATION
1. The provisions of the present Convention shall not affect the  validity of
multilateral or bilateral agreements concerning the recognition  and enforcement of
arbitral awards entered into by the Contracting States nor depr ive an interested party
of any right he may have to avail himself of an arbitral award in the manner and to
the extent allowed by the law or the treaties of the country wh ere such award is
sought to be relied upon.
2. The Geneva Protocol on Arbitration Clauses of 1923 and the Ge neva
Convention on the Execution of Foreign Arbitral Awards of 1927 shall cease to have
effect between Contracting States on their becoming bound and t o the extent that
they become bound, by this Convention.
ARTICLE VIII
1. This Convention shall be open until 31 December 1958 for sign ature on
behalf of any Member of the United Nations and also on behalf o f any other State
which is or hereafter becomes a member of any specialized agenc y of the United
Nations, or which is or hereafter becomes a party to the Statut e of the International
Court of Justice, or any other State to which an invitation has  been addressed by the
General Assembly of the United Nations.
2. This Convention shall be ratified and the instrument of ratif ication shall be
deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
ARTICLE IX
1. This Convention shall be open for accession to all States ref erred to in
Article VIII.
2. Accession shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument o f accession with
the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
ARTICLE X
1. Any State may, at the time of signature, ratification or acce ssion, declare
that this Convention shall extend to all or any of the territor ies for the international
relations of which it is responsible. Such a declaration shall take effect when the
Convention enters into force for the State concerned.
2. At any time thereafter any such extension shall be made by no tification
addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and sh all take effect as
from the ninetieth day after the day of receipt by the Secretar y-General of the United
Nations of this notification, or as from the date of entry into  force of the Convention
for the State concerned, whichever is the later.
3. With respect to those territories to which this Convention is  not extended at
the time of signature, ratification or accession, each State co ncerned shall consider
the possibility of taking the necessary steps in order to exten d the application of this
Convention to such territories, subject, where necessary for co nstitutional reasons, to
the consent of the Governments of such territories.
ARTICLE XI
In the case of a federal or non-unitary State, the following pr ovisions shall
apply:
(a) With respect to those articles of this Convention that come within the
legislative jurisdiction of the federal authority, the obligati ons of the
federal Government shall to this extent be the same as those ofContracting States which are not federal States;
(b) With respect to those articles of this Convention that come within the
                 ARBITRATION               [CAP. 387.       55
legislative jurisdiction of constituent states or provinces whi ch are not,
under the constitutional system of the federation, bound to tak e
legislative action, the federal Government shall bring such art icles with
a favourable recommendation to the notice of the appropriate au thorities
of constituent states or provinces at the earliest possible mom ent;
(c) A federal State Party to this Convention shall, at the reque st of any
other Contracting State transmitted through the Secretary-Gener al of the
United Nations, supply a statement of the law and practice of t he
federation and its constituent units in regard to any particula r provision
of this Convention, showing the extent to which effect has been  given to
that provision by legislative or other action.
ARTICLE XII
1. This Convention shall come into force on the ninetieth day fo llowing the
date of deposit of the third instrument of ratification or acce ssion.
2. For each State ratifying or acceding to this Convention after  the deposit of
the third instrument of ratification or accession, this Convent ion shall enter into
force on the ninetieth day after deposit by such State of its i nstrument of ratification
or accession.
ARTICLE XIII
1. Any Contracting State may denounce this Convention by a writt en
notification to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. De nunciation shall take
effect one year after the date of receipt of the notification b y the Secretary-General.
2. Any State which has made a declaration or notification under article X may,
at any time thereafter, by notification to the Secretary-Genera l of the United Nations,
declare that this Convention shall cease to extend to the terri tory concerned one year
after the date of the receipt of the notification by the Secret ary-General.
3. This Convention shall continue to be applicable to arbitral a wards in respect
of which recognition or enforcement proceedings have been insti tuted before the
denunciation takes effect.
ARTICLE XIV
A Contracting State shall not be entitled to avail itself of th e present
Convention against other Contracting States except to the exten t that it is itself
bound to apply the Convention.
ARTICLE XV
The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall notify the St ates
contemplated in article VIII of the following:
(a) Signatures and ratifications in accordance with Article VIII ;
(b) Accessions in accordance with Article IX;(c) Declarations and notifications under Articles I, X and XI;(d) The date upon which this Convention enters into force in acc ordance
with Article XII; and
(e) Denunciations and notifications in accordance with Article X III.
ARTICLE XVI
1. This Convention, of which the Chinese, English, French, Russi an and
Spanish texts shall be equally authentic, shall be deposited in  the archives of the
United Nations.
 56        CAP. 387. ]                        ARBITRATION
2. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall transmit a certified copy
of this Convention to the States contemplated in Article VIII.
Declaration made by Malta on its becoming a member to the Unite d Nations 
Convention on the recognition and enforcement of Foreign Arbitr al Awards
 (New York 1958)
1. In accordance with the relevant provisions of the Convention,  Malta will
apply the Convention only to the recognition and enforcement of  awards made in the
territory of another Contracting State.
2. The Convention only applies in regard to Malta with respect t o arbitration
agreements concluded after the date of Malta’s accession to the  Convention and
awards pursuant thereto made after the date of Malta’s accessio n to the Convention.
                 ARBITRATION               [CAP. 387.       57
CONVENTION ON THE SETTLEMENT OF INVESTMENT DISPUTES 
BETWEEN STATES AND NATIONALS OF OTHER STATES 
(WASHINGTON 1965)
Preamble
 The Contracting States
 Considering the need for international co-operation for econom ic development,
and the role of private international investment therein;
 Bearing in mind the possibility that from time to time dispute s may arise in
connection with such investment between Contracting States and nationals of other
Contracting States; 
 Recognising that while such disputes would usually be subject to national legal
processes, international methods of settlement may be appropria te in certain cases;
 Attaching particular importance to the availability of facilit ies for international
conciliation or arbitration to which Contracting States may sub mit such disputes if
they so desire;
 Desiring to establish such facilities under the auspices of th e International Bank
for Reconstruction and Development;
 Recognising that mutual consent by the parties to submit such disputes to
conciliation or to arbitration through such facilities constitu tes a binding agreement
which requires in particular that due consideration be given to  any recommendation
of conciliators, and that any arbitral award be complied with; and
 Declaring that no Contracting State shall by the mere fact of its ratification,
acceptance or approval of this Convention and without its conse nt be deemed to be
under any obligation to submit any particular dispute to concil iation or arbitration;
 Have agreed as follows:
CHAPTER I
INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR SETTLEMENT OF
INVESTMENT DISPUTES
SECTION 1
Establishment and Organisation
ARTICLE I
(1) There is hereby established the International Centre for Set tlement of
Investment Disputes (hereinafter called the Centre).
(2) The purpose of the Centre shall be to provide facilities for  conciliation and
arbitration of investment disputes between Contracting States a nd nationals of otherAmended by:
XVIII. 1999.32.THIRD SCHEDULE
 58        CAP. 387. ]                        ARBITRATION
Contracting States in accordance with the provisions of this Co nvention.
ARTICLE 2
 The seat of the Centre shall be at the principal office of the  International Bank for
Reconstruction and Development (hereinafter called the Bank). T he seat may be
moved to another place by decision of the Administrative Counci l adopted by a
majority of two-thirds of its members.
ARTICLE 3
 The Centre shall have an Administrative Council and a Secretar iat and shall
maintain a Panel of Conciliators and a Panel of Arbitrators.
SECTION 2
The Administrative Council
ARTICLE 4
(1) The Administrative Council shall be composed of one represen tative of each
Contracting State. An alternate may act as representative in ca se of his principal’s
absence from a meeting or inability to act.
(2) In the absence of a contrary designation, each governor and alternate
governor of the Bank appointed by a Contracting State shall be ex officio its
representative and its alternate respectively.
ARTICLE 5
 The President of the Bank shall be ex officio  Chairman of the Administrative
Council (hereinafter called the Chairman) but shall have no vot e. During his absence
or inability to act and during any vacancy in the office of Pre sident of the Bank, the
person for the time being acting as President shall act as Chai rman of the
Administrative Council.
ARTICLE 6
(1) Without prejudice to the powers and functions vested in it b y other
provisions of this Convention, the Administrative Council shall
(a) adopt the administrative and financial regulations of the Cent re;
(b) adopt the rules of procedure for the institution of conciliati on and
arbitration proceedings;
(c) adopt the rules of procedure for conciliation and arbitration proceedings
(hereinafter called the Conciliation Rules and the Arbitration Rules);
(d) approve arrangements with the Bank for the use of the Bank’s
administrative facilities and services;
(e) determine the conditions of service of the Secretary-General a nd of any
Deputy Secretary-General;
(f) adopt the annual budget of revenue and expenditures of the Cen tre;
                 ARBITRATION               [CAP. 387.       59
(g) approve the annual report on the operation of the Centre.
 The decisions referred to in subparagraphs ( a), (b), (c) and ( f) above shall be
adopted by a majority of two-thirds of the members of the Admin istrative Council.
(2) The Administrative Council may appoint such committees as it  considers
necessary.
(3) The Administrative Council shall also exercise such other po wers and
perform such other functions as it shall determine to be necess ary for the
implementation of the provisions of this Convention.
ARTICLE 7
(1) The Administrative Council shall hold an annual meeting and such other
meetings as may be determined by the Council, or convened by th e Chairman, or
convened by the Secretary-General at the request of not less th an five members of
the Council.
(2) Each member of the Administrative Council shall have one vot e and, except
as otherwise herein provided, all matters before the Council sh all be decided by a
majority of the votes cast.
(3) A quorum for any meeting of the Administrative Council shall  be a majority
of its members.
(4) The Administrative Council may establish, by a majority of t wo-thirds of its
members, a procedure whereby the Chairman may seek a vote of th e Council without
convening a meeting of the Council. The vote shall be considere d valid only if the
majority of the members of the Council cast their votes within the time limit set by
the said procedure.
ARTICLE 8
 Members of the Administrative Council and the Chairman shall s erve without
remuneration from the Centre.
SECTION 3
The Secretariat
ARTICLE 9
 The Secretariat shall consist of a Secretary-General, one or m ore Deputy
Secretaries-General and staff.
ARTICLE 10
(1) The Secretary-General and any Deputy Secretary-General shall  be elected
by the Administrative Council by a majority of two-thirds of it s members upon the
nomination of the Chairman for a term of service not exceeding six years and shall
be eligible for re-election. After consulting the members of th e Administrative
Council, the Chairman shall propose one or more candidates for each such office.
(2) The offices of Secretary-General and Deputy Secretary-Genera l shall be
 60        CAP. 387. ]                        ARBITRATION
incompatible with the exercise of any political function. Neith er the Secretary-
General nor any Deputy Secretary-General may hold any other emp loyment or
engage in any other occupation except with the approval of the Administrative
Council.
(3) During the Secretary-General’s absence or inability to act, and during any
vacancy of the office of Secretary-General, the Deputy Secretar y-General shall act
as Secretary-General. If there shall be more than one Deputy Se cretary-General, the
Administrative Council shall determine in advance the order in which they shall act
as Secretary-General.
ARTICLE 11
 The Secretary-General shall be the legal representative and th e principal officer
of the Centre and shall be responsible for its administration, including the
appointment of staff, in accordance with the provisions of this  Convention and the
rules adopted by the Administrative Council. He shall perform t he function of
registrar and shall have the power to authenticate arbitral awa rds rendered pursuant
to this Convention, and to certify copies thereof.
SECTION 4
The Panels
ARTICLE 12
 The Panel of Conciliators and the Panel of Arbitrators shall e ach consist of
qualified persons, designated as hereinafter provided, who are willing to serve
thereon.
ARTICLE 13
(1) Each Contracting State may designate to each Panel four pers ons who may
but need not be its nationals.
(2) The Chairman may designate ten persons to each Panel. The pe rsons so
designated to a Panel shall each have a different nationality.
ARTICLE 14
(1) Persons designated to serve on the Panels shall be persons o f high moral
character and recognised competence in the fields of law, comme rce, industry or
finance, who may be relied upon to exercise independent judgeme nt. Competence in
the field of the law shall be of particular importance in the c ase of persons on the
Panel of Arbitrators.
(2) The Chairman, in designating persons to serve on the Panels,  shall in
addition pay due regard to the importance of assuring represent ation on the Panels of
the principal legal systems of the world and of the main forms of economic activity.
ARTICLE 15
(1) Panel members shall serve for renewable periods of six years .
                 ARBITRATION               [CAP. 387.       61
(2) In case of death or resignation of a member of a Panel, the authority which
designated the member shall have the right to designate another  person to serve for
the remainder of that member’s term.
(3) Panel members shall continue in office until their successor s have been
designated.
ARTICLE 16
(1) A person may serve on both Panels.
(2) If a person shall have been designated to serve on the same Panel by more
than one Contracting State, or by one or more Contracting State s and the Chairman,
he shall be deemed to have been designated by the authority whi ch first designated
him or, if one such authority is the State of which he is a nat ional by that State.
(3) All designations shall be notified to the Secretary-General and shall take
effect from the date on which the notification is received.
SECTION 5
Financing the Centre
ARTICLE 17
 If the expenditure of the Centre cannot be met out of charges for the use of its
facilities, or out of other receipts, the excess shall be borne  by Contracting States
which are members of the Bank in proportion to their respective  subscriptions to the
capital stock of the Bank, and by Contracting States which are not members of the
Bank in accordance with rules adopted by the Administrative Cou ncil.
SECTION 6
Status, Immunities and Privileges
ARTICLE 18
 The Centre shall have full international legal personality. Th e legal capacity of
the Centre shall include the capacity
(a) to contract;
(b) to acquire and dispose of movable and immovable property;
(c) to institute legal proceedings.
ARTICLE 19
 To enable the Centre to fulfil its functions, it shall enjoy i n the territories of each
Contracting Centre the immunities and privileges set forth in t his Section.
ARTICLE 20
 The Centre, its property and assets shall enjoy immunity from all legal process,
 62        CAP. 387. ]                        ARBITRATION
except when the Centre waives this immunity.
ARTICLE 21
 The Chairman, the members of the Administrative Council, perso ns acting as
conciliators or arbitrators or members of a Committee appointed  pursuant to
paragraph (3) of Article 52, and the officers and employees of the Secretariat
(a) shall enjoy immunity from legal process with respect to acts p erformed
by them in the exercise of their functions, except when the Cen tre
waives this immunity;
(b) not being local nationals, shall enjoy the same immunities fro m
immigration restrictions, alien registration requirements and n ational
service obligations, the same facilities as regards exchange re strictions
and the same treatment in respect of travelling facilities as a re accorded
by Contracting States to the representatives, officials and emp loyees of
comparable rank of other Contracting States.
ARTICLE 22
 The provisions of Article 21 shall apply to persons appearing in proceedings
under this Convention as parties, agents, counsel, advocates, w itnesses or experts;
provided, however, that subparagraph ( b) thereof shall apply only in connection with
their travel to and from, and their stay at, the place where th e proceedings are held.
ARTICLE 23
(1) The archives of the Centre shall be inviolable wherever they  may be.
(2) With regard to its official communications, the Centre shall  be accorded by
each Contracting State treatment not less favourable than that accorded to other
international organisations.
ARTICLE 24
(1) The Centre, its assets, property and income, and its operati ons and
transactions authorised by this Convention shall be exempt from  all taxation and
customs duties. The Centre shall also be exempt from liability for the collection or
payment of any taxes or customs duties.
(2) Except in the case of local nationals, no tax shall be levie d on or in respect
of expense allowances paid by the Centre to the Chairman or mem bers of the
Administrative Council, or on or in respect of salaries, expens e allowances or other
emoluments paid by the Centre to officials or employees of the Secretariat.
(3) No tax shall be levied on or in respect of fees or expense a llowances
received by persons acting as conciliators, or arbitrators, or members of a Committee
appointed pursuant to paragraph (3) of Article 52, in proceedin gs under this
Convention, if the sole jurisdictional basis for such tax is th e location of the Centre
or the place where such proceedings are conducted or the place where such fees or
allowances are paid.
                 ARBITRATION               [CAP. 387.       63
CHAPTER II
JURISDICTION OF THE CENTRE
ARTICLE 25
(1) The jurisdiction of the Centre shall extend to any legal dis pute arising
directly out of an investment, between a Contracting State (or any constituent
subdivision or agency of a Contracting State designated to the Centre by that State)
and a national of another Contracting State, which the parties to the dispute consent
in writing to submit to the Centre. When the parties have given  their consent, no
party may withdraw its consent unilaterally.
(2) "National of another Contracting State" means:
(a) any natural person who had the nationality of a Contracting St ate other
than the State party to the dispute on the date on which the pa rties
consented to submit such dispute to conciliation or arbitration  as well as
on the date on which the request was registered pursuant to par agraph
(3) of Article 28 or paragraph (3) of Article 36, but does not include any
person who on either date also had the nationality of the Contr acting
State party to the dispute; and
(b) any juridical person which had the nationality of a Contractin g State
other than the State party to the dispute on the date on which the parties
consented to submit such dispute to conciliation or arbitration  and any
juridical person which had the nationality of the Contracting S tate party
to the dispute on that date and which, because of foreign contr ol, the
parties have agreed should be treated as a national of anotherContracting State for the purposes of this Convention.
(3) Consent by a constituent subdivision or agency of a Contract ing State shall
require the approval of that State unless that State notifies t he Centre that no such
approval is required.
(4) Any Contracting State may, at the time of ratification, acce ptance or
approval of this Convention or at any time thereafter, notify t he Centre of the class
or classes of disputes which it would or would not consider sub mitting to the
jurisdiction of the Centre. The Secretary-General shall forthwi th transmit such
notification to all Contracting States. Such notification shall  not constitute the
consent required by paragraph (1).
ARTICLE 26
 Consent of the parties to arbitration under this Convention sh all, unless otherwise
stated, be deemed consent to such arbitration to the exclusion of any other remedy. A
Contracting State may require the exhaustion of local administr ative or judicial
remedies as a condition of its consent to arbitration under thi s Convention.
ARTICLE 27
(1) No Contracting State shall give diplomatic protection, or br ing an
international claim, in respect of a dispute which one of its n ationals and another
Contracting State shall have consented to submit or shall have submitted to
arbitration under this Convention, unless such other Contractin g State shall have
 64        CAP. 387. ]                        ARBITRATION
failed to abide by and comply with the award rendered in such d ispute.
(2) Diplomatic protection, for the purposes of paragraph (1), sh all not include
informal diplomatic exchanges for the sole purpose of facilitat ing a settlement of the
dispute.
CHAPTER III
CONCILIATION
SECTION 1
Request for Conciliation
ARTICLE 28
(1) Any Contracting State or any national of a Contracting State  wishing to
institute conciliation proceedings shall address a request to t hat effect in writing to
the Secretary-General who shall send a copy of the request to t he other party.
(2) The request shall contain information concerning the issues in dispute, the
identity of the parties and their consent to conciliation in ac cordance with the rules
of procedure for the institution of conciliation and arbitratio n proceedings.
(3) The Secretary-General shall register the request unless he f inds, on the basis
of the information contained in the request, that the dispute i s manifestly outside the
jurisdiction of the Centre. He shall forthwith notify the parti es of registration or
refusal to register.
SECTION 2
Constitution of the Conciliation Commission
ARTICLE 29
(1) The Conciliation Commission (hereinafter called the Commissi on) shall be
constituted as soon as possible after registration of a request  pursuant to Article 28. 
(2) ( a) The Commission shall consist of a sole conciliator or any une ven number
of conciliators appointed as the parties shall agree.
(b) Where the parties do not agree upon the number of conciliators  and the
method of their appointment, the Commission shall consist of th ree conciliators, one
conciliator appointed by each party and the third, who shall be  the president of the
Commission, appointed by agreement of the parties.
ARTICLE 30
 If the Commission shall not have been constituted within 90 da ys after notice of
registration of the request has been dispatched by the Secretar y-General in
accordance with paragraph (3) of Article 28, or such other peri od as the parties may
agree, the Chairman shall, at the request of either party and a fter consulting both
parties as far as possible, appoint the conciliator or concilia tors not yet appointed.
                 ARBITRATION               [CAP. 387.       65
ARTICLE 31
(1) Conciliators may be appointed from outside the Panel of Conc iliators,
except in the case of appointments by the Chairman pursuant to Article 30. 
(2) Conciliators appointed from outside the Panel of Conciliator s shall possess
the qualities stated in paragraph (1) of Article 14.
SECTION 3
Conciliation Proceedings
ARTICLE 32
(1) The Commission shall be the judge of its own competence.
(2) Any objection by a party to the dispute that a dispute is no t within the
jurisdiction of the Centre, or for other reasons is not within the competence of the
Commission, shall be considered by the Commission which shall d etermine whether
to deal with it as a preliminary question or to join it to the merits of the dispute.
ARTICLE 33
 Any conciliation proceeding shall be conducted in accordance w ith the provisions
of this Section and except as the parties otherwise agree, in a ccordance with the
Conciliation Rules in effect on the date on which the parties c onsented to
conciliation. If any question of procedure arises which is not covered by this Section
or the Conciliation Rules or any rules agreed by the parties, t he Commission shall
decide the question.
ARTICLE 34
(1) It shall be the duty of the Commission to clarify the issues  in dispute
between the parties and to endeavour to bring about agreement b etween them upon
mutually acceptable terms. To that end, the Commission may at a ny stage of the
proceedings and from time to time recommend terms of settlement  to the parties. The
parties shall cooperate in good faith with the Commission in or der to enable the
Commission to carry out its functions, and shall give their mos t serious
consideration to its recommendations.
(2) If the parties reach agreement, the Commission shall draw up  a report noting
the issues in dispute and recording that the parties have reach ed agreement. If, at any
stage of the proceedings, it appears to the Commission that the re is no likelihood of
agreement between the parties, it shall close the proceedings a nd shall draw up a
report noting the submission of the dispute and recording the f ailure of the parties to
reach agreement. If one party fails to appear or participate in  the proceedings the
Commission shall close the proceedings and shall draw up a repo rt noting that
party’s failure to appear or participate.
ARTICLE 35
 Except as the parties to the dispute shall otherwise agree, ne ither party to a
conciliation proceedings shall be entitled in any other proceed ing, whether before
 66        CAP. 387. ]                        ARBITRATION
arbitrators or in a court of law or otherwise, to invoke or rel y on any views expressed
or statements or admissions or offers of settlement made by the  other party in the
conciliation proceedings, or the report or any recommendations made by the
Commission.
CHAPTER IV
ARBITRATION
SECTION 1
Request for Arbitration
ARTICLE 36
(1) Any Contracting State or any national of a Contracting State  wishing to
institute arbitration proceedings shall address a request to th at effect in writing to the
Secretary-General who shall send a copy of the request to the o ther party.
(2) The request shall contain information concerning the issues in dispute, the
identity of the parties and their consent to arbitration in acc ordance with the rules of
procedure for the institution of conciliation and arbitration p roceedings.
(3) The Secretary-General shall register the request unless he f inds, on the basis
of the information contained in the request, that the dispute i s manifestly outside the
jurisdiction of the Centre. He shall forthwith notify the parti es of registration or
refusal to register.
SECTION 2
Constitution of the Tribunal
ARTICLE 37
(1) The Arbitral Tribunal (hereinafter called the Tribunal) shal l be constituted
as soon as possible after registration of a request pursuant to  Article 36.
(2) ( a) The Tribunal shall consist of a sole arbitrator or any uneven  number of
arbitrators appointed as the parties shall agree.
(b) Where the parties do not agree upon the number of arbitrators and the
method of their appointment, the Tribunal shall consist of thre e arbitrators, one
arbitrator appointed by each party and the third, who shall be the president of the
Tribunal, appointed by agreement of the parties.
ARTICLE 38
 If the Tribunal shall not have been constituted within 90 days  after notice of
registration of the request has been dispatched by the Secretar y-General in
accordance with paragraph (3) of Article 36, or such other peri od as the parties may
agree, the Chairman shall, at the request of either party and a fter consulting both
parties as far as possible, appoint the arbitrator or arbitrato rs not yet appointed.
                 ARBITRATION               [CAP. 387.       67
Arbitrators appointed by the Chairman pursuant to this Article shall not be nationals
of the Contracting State party to the dispute or of the Contrac ting State whose
national is a party to the dispute.
ARTICLE 39
 The majority of the arbitrators shall be nationals of States o ther than the
Contracting State party to the dispute and the Contracting Stat e whose national is a
party to the dispute; provided, however, that the foregoing pro visions of this Article
shall not apply if the sole arbitrator or each individual membe r of the Tribunal has
been appointed by agreement of the parties.
ARTICLE 40
(1) Arbitrators may be appointed from outside the Panel of Arbit rators, except
in the case of appointments by the Chairman pursuant to Article  38.
(2) Arbitrators appointed from outside the Panel of Arbitrators shall possess the
qualities stated in paragraph (1) of Article 14.
SECTION 3
Powers and Functions of the Tribunal
ARTICLE 41
(1) The Tribunal shall be the judge of its own competence.
(2) Any objection by a party to the dispute that is not within t he jurisdiction of
the Centre, or for other reasons is not within the competence o f the Tribunal, shall be
considered by the Tribunal which shall determine whether to dea l with it as a
preliminary question or to join it to the merits of the dispute .
ARTICLE 42
(1) The Tribunal shall decide a dispute in accordance with such rules of law as
may be agreed by the parties. In the absence of such agreement,  the Tribunal shall
apply the law of the Contracting State party to the dispute (in cluding its rules on the
conflict of laws) and such rules of international law as may be  applicable.
(2) The Tribunal may not bring in a finding of non liquet  on the ground of
silence or obscurity of the law.
(3) The provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not prejudice  the power of the
Tribunal to decide a dispute ex aequo et bono  if the parties so agree.
ARTICLE 43
 Except as the parties otherwise agree, the Tribunal may, if it  deems it necessary at
any state of the proceedings:
(a) call upon the parties to produce documents or other evidence, and
(b) visit the scene connected with the dispute, and conduct such e nquiries
 68        CAP. 387. ]                        ARBITRATION
there as it may deem appropriate.
ARTICLE 44
Any arbitration proceeding shall be conducted in accordance wit h the provisions
of this Section and, except as the parties otherwise agree, in accordance with the
Arbitration Rules in effect on the date on which the parties co nsented to arbitration.
If any question of procedure arises which is not covered by thi s Section or the
Arbitration Rules or any rules agreed by the parties, the Tribu nal shall decide the
question.
ARTICLE 45
(1) Failure of a party to appear or to present his case shall no t be deemed an
admission of the other party’s assertions.
(2) If a party fails to appear or to present his case at any sta ge of the
proceedings the other party may request the Tribunal to deal wi th the questions
submitted to it and to render an award. Before rendering an awa rd, the Tribunal shall
notify, and grant a period of grace to, the party failing to ap pear or to present its
case, unless it is satisfied that party does not intend to do s o.
ARTICLE 46
 Except as the parties otherwise agree, the Tribunal shall, if requested by a party,
determine any incidental or additional claims or counter-claims  arising directly out
of the subject-matter of the dispute provided that they are wit hin the scope of the
consent of the parties and are otherwise within the jurisdictio n of the Centre.
ARTICLE 47
 Except as the parties otherwise agree, the Tribunal may, if it  considers that the
circumstances so require, recommend any provisional measures wh ich should be
taken to preserve the respective rights of either party.
SECTION 4
The Award
ARTICLE 48
(1) The Tribunal shall decide questions by a majority of the vot es of all its
members.
(2) The award of the Tribunal shall be in writing and shall be s igned by the
members of the Tribunal who voted for it.
(3) The award shall deal with every question submitted to the Tr ibunal, and
shall state the reasons upon which it is based.
(4) Any member of the Tribunal may attach his individual opinion  to the award,
whether he dissents from the majority or not, or a statement of  his dissent.
(5) The Centre shall not publish the award without the consent o f the parties.
                 ARBITRATION               [CAP. 387.       69
ARTICLE 49
(1) The Secretary-General shall promptly dispatch certified copi es of the award
to the parties. The award shall be deemed to have been rendered  on the date on
which the certified copies were dispatched.
(2) The Tribunal upon the request of a party made within 45 days  after the date
on which the award was rendered may after notice to the other p arty decide any
question which it had omitted to decide in the award and shall rectify any clerical,
arithmetical or similar error in the award. Its decision shall become part of the award
and shall be notified to the parties in the same manner as the award. The periods of
time provided for under paragraph (2) of Article 51 and paragra ph (2) of Article 52
shall run from the date on which the decision was rendered.
SECTION 5
Interpretation, Revision and Annulment of the Award
ARTICLE 50
(1) If any dispute shall arise between the parties as to the mea ning or scope of
an award, either party may request interpretation of the award by an application in
writing addressed to the Secretary-General.
(2) The request shall, if possible, be submitted to the Tribunal  which rendered
the award. If this shall not be possible, a new Tribunal shall be constituted in
accordance with Section 2 of this Chapter. The Tribunal may, if  it considers that the
circumstances so require, stay enforcement of the award pending  its decision.
ARTICLE 51
(1) Either party may request revision of the award by an applica tion in writing
addressed to the Secretary-General on the ground of discovery o f some fact of such a
nature as decisively to effect the award, provided that when th e award was rendered
that fact was unknown to the Tribunal and to the applicant and that the applicant’s
ignorance of that fact was not due to negligence.
(2) The application shall be made within 90 days after the disco very of such fact
and in any event within three years after the date on which the  award was rendered.
(3) The request shall, if possible, be submitted to the Tribunal  which rendered
the award. If this shall not be possible, a new Tribunal shall be constituted in
accordance with Section 2 of this Chapter.
(4) The Tribunal may, if it considers that the circumstances so require, stay
enforcement of the award pending its decision. If the applicant  requests stay of
enforcement of the award in his application, enforcement shall be stayed
provisionally until the Tribunal rules on such request.
ARTICLE 52
(1) Either party may request annulment of the award by an applic ation in
writing to the Secretary-General on one or more of the followin g grounds:
(a) that the Tribunal was not properly constituted;
 70        CAP. 387. ]                        ARBITRATION
(b) that the Tribunal had manifestly exceeded its powers;
(c) that there was corruption on the part of a member of the Tribu nal;
(d) that there has been a serious departure from a fundamental rul e of
procedure; or
(e) that the award has failed to state the reasons on which it is based.
(2) The application shall be made within 120 days after the date  on which the
award was rendered except that when annulment is requested on t he ground of
corruption such application shall be made within 120 days after  discovery of the
corruption and in any event within three years after the date o n which the award was
rendered.
(3) On receipt of the request the Chairman shall forthwith appoi nt from the
Panel of Arbitrators an ad hoc  Committee of three persons. None of the members of
the Committee shall have been a member of the Tribunal which re ndered the award,
shall be of the same nationality as any such member, shall be a  national of the State
party to the dispute or of the State whose national is a party to the dispute, shall have
been designated to the Panel of Arbitrators by either of those States, or shall have
acted as a conciliator in the same dispute. The Committee shall  have the authority to
annul the award or any part thereof on any of the grounds set f orth in paragraph (1).
(4) The provisions of Articles 41 - 45, 48, 49, 53 and 54, and o f Chapters VI and
VII shall apply mutatis mutandis  to proceedings before the Committee.
(5) The Committee may, if it considers that circumstances so req uire, stay
enforcement of the award pending its decision. If the applicant  requests a stay of
enforcement of the award in his application, enforcement shall be stayed
provisionally until the Committee rules on such request.
(6) If the award is annulled the dispute shall, at the request o f either party, be
submitted to a new Tribunal constituted in accordance with Sect ion 2 of this Chapter.
SECTION 6
Recognition and Enforcement of the Award
ARTICLE 53
(1) The award shall be binding on the parties and shall not be s ubject to any
appeal or to any other remedy except those provided for in this  Convention. Each
party shall abide by and comply with the terms of the award exc ept to the extent that
enforcement shall have been stayed pursuant to the relevant pro visions of this
Convention.
(2) For the purposes of this Section, "award" shall include any decision
interpreting, revising or annulling such award pursuant to Arti cles 50, 51 or 52.
ARTICLE 54
(1) Each Contracting State shall recognise an award rendered pur suant to this
Convention as binding and enforce the pecuniary obligations imp osed by that award
within its territories as if it were a final judgement of a cou rt in that State. A
Contracting State with a federal constitution may enforce such an award in or
through its federal courts and may provide that such courts sha ll treat the award as if
it were a final judgement of the courts of a constituent state.
                 ARBITRATION               [CAP. 387.       71
(2) A party seeking recognition or enforcement in the territorie s of a
Contracting State shall furnish to a competent court or other a uthority which such
State shall have designated for this purpose a copy of the awar d certified by the
Secretary-General. Each Contracting State shall notify the Secr etary-General of the
designation of the competent court or other authority for this purpose and of any
subsequent change in such designation.
(3) Execution of the award shall be governed by the laws concern ing the
execution of judgements in force in the State in whose territor ies such execution is
sought.
ARTICLE 55
 Nothing in Article 54 shall be construed as derogating from th e law in force in
any Contracting State relating to immunity of that State or of any foreign State from
execution.
CHAPTER V
REPLACEMENT AND DISQUALIFICATION OF CONCILIATORS AND 
ARBITRATORS
ARTICLE 56
(1) After a Commission or a Tribunal has been constituted and pr oceedings have
begun, its composition shall remain unchanged; provided, howeve r, that if a
conciliator or an arbitrator should die, become incapacitated, or resign, the resulting
vacancy shall be filled in accordance with the provisions of Se ction 2 of Chapter III
or Section 2 of Chapter IV .
(2) A member of the Commission or Tribunal shall continue to ser ve in that
capacity notwithstanding that he shall have ceased to be a memb er of the Panel.
(3) If a conciliator or an arbitrator appointed by a party shall  have resigned
without the consent of the Commission or Tribunal of which he w as a member, the
Chairman shall appoint a person from the appropriate Panel to f ill the resulting
vacancy.
ARTICLE 57
 A party may propose to a Commission or Tribunal the disqualifi cation of any of
its members on account of any fact indicating a manifest lack o f the qualities
required by paragraph (1) of Article 14. A party to arbitration  proceedings may, in
addition, propose the disqualification of an arbitrator on the ground that he was
ineligible for appointment to the Tribunal under Section 2 of C hapter IV .
ARTICLE 58
 The decision on any proposal to disqualify a conciliator or ar bitrator shall be
taken by the other members of the Commission or Tribunal as the  case may be,
provided that where those members are equally divided, or in th e case of a proposal
to disqualify a sole conciliator or arbitrator, or a majority o f the conciliators or
 72        CAP. 387. ]                        ARBITRATION
arbitrators, the Chairman shall take that decision. If it is de cided that the proposal is
well-founded the conciliator or arbitrator to whom the decision  relates shall be
replaced in accordance with the provisions of Section 2 of Chap ter III or Section 2 of
Chapter IV .
CHAPTER VI
COST OF PROCEEDINGS
ARTICLE 59
 The charges payable by the parties for the use of the faciliti es of the Centre shall
be determined by the Secretary-General in accordance with the r egulations adopted
by the Administrative Council.
ARTICLE 60
(1) Each Commission and each Tribunal shall determine the fees a nd expenses
of its members within limits established from time to time by t he Administrative
Council and after consultation with the Secretary-General.
(2) Nothing in paragraph (1) shall preclude the parties from agr eeing in advance
with the Commission or Tribunal concerned upon the fees and exp enses of its
members.
ARTICLE 61
(1) In the case of conciliation proceedings the fees and expense s of members of
the Commission as well as the charges for the use of the facili ties of the Centre, shall
be borne equally by the parties. Each party shall bear any othe r expenses it incurs in
connection with the proceedings.
(2) In the case of arbitration proceedings the Tribunal shall, e xcept as the parties
otherwise agree, assess the expenses incurred by the parties in  connection with the
proceedings, and shall decide how and by whom those expenses, t he fees and
expenses of the members of the Tribunal and the charges for the  use of the facilities
of the Centre shall be paid. Such decision shall form part of t he award.
CHAPTER VII
PLACE OF PROCEEDINGS
ARTICLE 62
 Conciliation and arbitration proceedings shall be held at the seat of the Centre
except as hereinafter provided.
ARTICLE 63
Conciliation and arbitration proceedings may be held, if the pa rties so agree,
                 ARBITRATION               [CAP. 387.       73
(a) at the seat of the Permanent Court of Arbitration or of any ot her
appropriate institution, whether private or public, with which the Centre
may make arrangements for that purpose; or
(b) at any other place approved by the Commission or Tribunal afte r
consultation with the Secretary-General.
CHAPTER VIII
DISPUTES BETWEEN CONTRACTING STATES
ARTICLE 64
 Any dispute arising between Contracting States concerning the interpretation or
application of this Convention which is not settled by negotiat ion shall be referred to
the International Court of Justice by the application of any pa rty to such dispute,
unless the States concerned agree to another method of settleme nt.
CHAPTER IX
AMENDMENT
ARTICLE 65
 Any Contracting State may propose amendment of this Convention . The text of a
proposed amendment shall be communicated to the Secretary-Gener al not less than
90 days prior to the meeting of the Administrative Council at w hich such amendment
is to be considered and shall fo rthwith be transmitted by him t o all the members of
the Administrative Council.
ARTICLE 66
(1) If the Administrative Council shall so decide by a majority of two-thirds of
its members, the proposed amendment shall be circulated to all Contracting States
for ratification, acceptance or approval. Each amendment shall enter into force 30
days after dispatch by the depository of this Convention of a n otification to
Contracting States that all Contracting States have ratified, a ccepted or approved the
amendment.
(2) No amendment shall affect the rights and obligations under t his Convention
of any Contracting State or of a ny of its constituent subdivisi ons or agencies, or of
any national of such State arising out of consent to the jurisd iction of the Centre
given before the date of entry into force of the amendment.
 74        CAP. 387. ]                        ARBITRATION
CHAPTER X
FINAL PROVISIONS
ARTICLE 67
 This Convention shall be open for signature on behalf of State s members of the
Bank. It shall also be open for signature on behalf of any othe r State which is a party
to the Statute of the International Court of Justice and which the Administrative
Council, by a vote of two-thirds of its members, shall have inv ited to sign the
Convention.
ARTICLE 68
(1) This Convention shall be subject to ratification, acceptance  or approval by
the signatory States in accordance with their respective consti tutional procedures.
(2) This Convention shall enter into force 30 days after the dat e of deposit of the
twentieth instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval. I t shall enter into force
for each State which subsequently deposits its instrument of ra tification, acceptance
or approval 30 days after the date of such deposit.
ARTICLE 69
 Each Contracting State shall take legislative or other measure s as may be
necessary for making the provisions of this Convention effectiv e in its territories.
ARTICLE 70
 This Convention shall apply to all territories for whose inter national relations a
Contracting State is responsible, except those which are exclud ed by such State by
written notice to the depository of this Convention either at t he time of ratification,
acceptance or approval or subsequently.
ARTICLE 71
 Any Contracting State may denounce this Convention by written notice to the
depository of this Convention. The denunciation shall take effe ct six months after
receipt of such notice.
ARTICLE 72
 Notice by a Contracting State pursuant to Article 70 or 71 sha ll not affect the
rights or obligations under this Convention of that State or of  any of its constituent
subdivisions or agencies or of any national of that State arisi ng out of consent to the
jurisdiction of the Centre given by one of them before such not ice was received by
the depository.
ARTICLE 73
 Instruments of ratification, acceptance or approval of this Co nvention and of
                 ARBITRATION               [CAP. 387.       75
amendments thereto shall be deposited with the Bank which shall  act  as  the
depository of this Convention. The depository shall transmit ce rtified copies of this
Convention to States members of the Bank and to any other State  invited to sign the
Convention.
ARTICLE 74
 The depository shall register this Convention with the Secreta riat of the United
Nations in accordance with Article 102 of the Charter of the Un ited Nations and the
Regulations thereunder adopted by the General Assembly.
ARTICLE 75
The depository shall notify all signatory States of the followi ng:
(a) signatures in accordance with Article 67;
(b) deposits of instruments of ratification, acceptance and approv al in
accordance with Article 73;
(c) the date on which this Convention enters into force in accorda nce with
Article 68;
(d) exclusions from territorial application pursuant to Article 70 ;
(e) the date on which any amendment of this Convention enters into  force
in accordance with Article 66; and
(f) denunciation in accordance with Article 71.
 DONE at Washington in the English, French and Spanish language s, all three
texts being equally authentic, in a single copy which shall rem ain deposited in the
archives of the International Ba nk for Reconstruction and Devel opment, which has
indicated by its signature below its agreement to fulfil the fu nctions with which it is
charged under this Convention.
 76        CAP. 387. ]                        ARBITRATION
Mandatory Arbitration
The disputes hereunder stated in Part A shall be settled by arb itration and
shall be referred to arbitration under the rules stated in Part  B in addition to such
rules as may be issued by the Centre from time to time.
Part A
1.1 Condominium Disputes.
All disputes regarding a condominium which according to the Condominium
Act (Cap. 398) are to be submitted to for arbitration.
1.2 Motor Traffic Disputes
Any civil or commercial disputes, not being one in connection w ith a claim
for damages for personal injuries, being a dispute arising from :
(a) any collision between vehicles, or
(b) any involuntary damage to property involving vehicles, or
(c) any such claim against an authorized insurer, an assurance com pany, an
underwriter approved by the Minister responsible for transport or other
person who in accordance with the Motor Vehicles Insurance (Third-
Party Risks) Ordinance  (Cap. 104) or any policy of insurance may be
liable therefor, and
(d) the value whereof does not exceed eleven thousand and six hund red and
forty-six euro and eighty-seven cents (11,646.87).
1.3 Disputes connected with electricity and water services
All disputes arising from the supply of electricity, electrical  meter rent or any
other service provided by the distribution system operator, and  any dispute related to
water services, without prejudice, where applicable, to the provisions of article 466 of
the Code of Organization and Civil Procedure, to the provisions of to the provisions
of the Enemalta (Transfer of Assets, Rights, Liabilities and Ob ligations) Act and the
Water Services Corporation Act, and to the provisions of the El ectricity Supply
Regulations and the Water Supply Regulations:
Provided that consumers will be entitled to file their claims a gainst the
distribution system operator or the Water Services Corporation,  as the case may be, in
terms of the procedure established by this Act:
Provided further that notwithstanding the provisions of any oth er law other than
the Consumer Affairs Act or any regulations made thereunder in so far as such laws deal
with the resolution, however so described, of any consumer disp utes, and without
prejudice to pending cases, the Arbitration Tribunal shall have  exclusive jurisdictionFOURTH SCHEDULE Added by:
IX. 2004.26.
Amended by:
L.N. 420 of 2004;L.N. 7 of 2005;L.N. 279 of 2005;XXII. 2005.94;L.N. 165 of 2006;L.N. 166 of 2006;L.N. 425 of 2007;IX. 2010.15;L.N. 244 of 2012;L.N. 149 of 2015;XXX. 2015.7.(Article 15)
                 ARBITRATION               [CAP. 387.       77
over these cases.
1.4 Paying Agency Disputes
All disputes arising from claims made to the Paying Agency whic h,
according to regulation 13 of the Paying Agency Regulations , are to be submitted to
arbitration.
Part B
1. The arbitration, being domestic arbitration, shall be governe d by Part IV of
the Act.
2. The arbitral tribunal shall be composed of one arbitrator unl ess the parties
agree that it shall be composed of three arbitrators and notify  the Centre within thirty
days of the receipt by the respondent of the notice of arbitrat ion;
3. The sole arbitrator, or any of the members of the arbitral tr ibunal when it is
composed of three arbitrators, shall be appointed by the Chairm an of the Centre in
accordance with the provisions of the Act unless the Centre is notified of the
appointment of an arbitral tribunal within thirty days of the r eceipt by the respondent
of the notice of arbitration:
Provided that the Chairman of the Centre shall not appoint as s ole arbitrator or
as a member of the arbitral tribunal, when it is composed of th ree arbitrators, any person
who is appointed as an arbitrator in ten or more pending arbitr ations.
4. Unless the parties expressly agree otherwise, there shall be a right of appeal
from a final award as provided in article 15(11A);
5. The rules on confidentiality, including those stated in artic les 37 and 70 of
the Act shall not apply to mandatory arbitrations unless the pa rties expressly agree to
such rules and notify the arbitrator and the Centre accordingly ;
6. The award shall be deemed to have been received by the partie s on the date
when it is delivered in open tribunal;
7. The provisions of Title IX of Book First and of Title XI of B ook Third of the
Code of Organization and Civil Procedure and any other provision of that Code
relating to curators, shall mutatis mutandis  apply to the disputes referred to in this
Schedule;
8. The provisions of Title XIV of Book Third of the Code of Organization and
Civil Procedure  and any other provision of that Code relating to the intervent ion and
joinder of parties to a suit, shall apply mutatis mutandis  to the disputes referred to in
this Schedule.
9. The arbitral tribunal shall establish the days and times when  sittings shall be
held:
Provided that the arbitral tribunal shall appoint the first sit ting for hearing
within one month from receipt by the arbitral tribunal of the d ocumentation relating
to the dispute.
10. (1) The arbitral tribunal shall deliver the award within two months from the
date that proceedings are declared closed.
(2) In the event that the arbitral tribunal fails to deliver its  award as aforesaid,
any party to the proceedings may request the Chairman of the Ce ntre to withdraw the
appointment of the arbitral tribunal by means of an application  in writing.
(3) The decision on the withdrawal will be made by the Chairman of the Centre,
 78        CAP. 387. ]                        ARBITRATION
and his decision shall be final and binding.
(4) The decision of the Chairman to withdraw the appointment of the arbitral
tribunal shall be served on the arbitral tribunal, on the parti es and on the Registrar.
(5) Where the Chairman upholds a request for the withdrawal of t he
appointment of the arbitral tribunal as aforesaid, the Chairman  shall appoint another
arbitral tribunal in its stead without delay.
(6) Upon notification of such withdrawal, the arbitral tribunal shall
immediately, and in any case not later than ten days from the d ate of notification,
deliver to the Registrar all documentation and all evidence rel ative to the dispute,
failing which disciplinary action shall be taken in accordance with rule 72(6) of the
Arbitration Rules.
11. (1) Where either party informs the arbitral tribunal that an action in respect
of the same subject-matter and between the same parties has bee n brought before the
court, the arbitral tribunal shall suspend the arbitration proc eedings until such time
as a judgment is given by the court in the said action.
(2) The arbitral tribunal shall be bound by, and act according t o, the judgment
delivered by the court on the same subject-matter and between t he same parties, that
may be notified to it by either party.
12. If two or more disputes on the same subject-matter are refer red to
arbitration, the Chairman may, upon the application of either p arty, order that the
disputes are heard by the same arbitral tribunal.
13. The Arbitration Rules shall apply to disputes under this Sch edule except to
the extent modified by the rules contained in this Part.