High Court clarifies that the time to appeal an arbitration award runs from the date of the award, not the date of notification to the parties

High Court clarifies that the time to appeal an arbitration award runs from the date of the award, not the date of notification to the parties

The distinction between when an arbitration award is made (“Date of Award”) and when the parties receive notification of the award (“Date of Notification”) is often inconsequential. However, in Eronat v CPNC International (Chad) Ltd and another [2024] EWHC 2880 (Comm), the Commercial Court clarified that this distinction is key when it comes to filing timely appeals to the English Courts.

Factual Background

The arbitration clause at issue provided for arbitration under the LCIA Rules. While the default provisions of the LCIA Rules preclude an appeal on a point of law, the arbitration agreement provided an exception under which a party waived all rights to appeal to the court, except the right to appeal on a material error of fact or law within 30 days after the tribunal’s “decision is rendered”.

The arbitral tribunal signed the award on 11 April 2024. However, the LCIA did not send the award to the parties until 5 days later, on 16 April 2024. On 16 May 2024, the claimant filed an appeal under Section 69(2)(a) of the Arbitration Act 1996 (the “Act”), which allows an appeal on a point of law with the agreement of the parties.

The defendants applied for reverse summary judgment on the grounds that the appeal was filed out of time, as it had been more than 30 days from the Date of Award. The claimant argued that the appeal was timely, as it was filed 30 days from the Date of Notification.

Court’s Analysis

In deciding whether the arbitration clause’s reference to a decision being “rendered” meant the Date of Award or the Date of Notification, the court looked to the Act, the LCIA Rules, and the language of the arbitration agreement.

The court noted that the Act distinguishes between the Date of Award, (Section 54) and Notification of Award (Section 55). Under Section 54, absent party agreement or an express statement by the tribunal, the Date of Award is the date the final arbitrator signs the award. Under Section 55 notification of the award should be performed by serving a copy of the award on the parties “without delay after the award is made,” but Section 56 allows a tribunal to withhold delivery of the award until payment is made. As the court noted, this structure shows “that there may be (and usually is) a passage of time between when the Award is made and when it is notified to the parties”.

Further, given that Section 70(3) expressly states that the time limits for appeal are expressly calculated from “the date of the award”, any delay in notification will “reduc[e] the available time for any appeal”.

The court also noted that the LCIA Rules, which were incorporated into the arbitration agreement by reference, contain a similar distinction “between the award being ‘made’ and notification to the parties”.

Finally, the court analysed the language of the arbitration agreement itself, finding that the phrase “render its decision” in the arbitration clause is “intrinsically linked to the work of producing/creating the Award itself” rather than notifying the award to the parties.

Based on all of these considerations, the court was “satisfied that the 30 days therefore runs from the date when the Award is made which is 11 April 2024.” Thus, because the 30 days had expired before the claim form was filed, the court granted summary judgment for the defendants, finding that the time barred appeal had “no prospect of success whatsoever and stands to be dismissed”. The court also found that the claimants had failed to comply with the requirements to seek an extension of time to appeal, noting that even if they had, an application for an extension of time did not fall within the exception in the arbitration clause, meaning such an application was outside the court’s jurisdiction.

This case reminds us that English Courts will strictly construe party agreements on appeals to arbitration awards, and further, serves as a cautionary tale to parties and their legal advisors to evaluate deadlines carefully and ensure that all matters are timely filed.