TURKS & CAICOS Law and Practice Contributed by: Stephen M Wilson KC, Wilson Wells
5.4 Standard of Judicial Review for Jurisdiction/Admissibility
6.2 Role of Courts There are no provisions in the Arbitration Act giving the court power to grant preliminary or interim relief in support of arbitration proceedings. However, a party may be able to rely on judicial pronouncements that have been made suggesting that the court has a very broad inherent jurisdiction upon which it may rely for the purpose of granting interim relief. Neither the Arbitration Act nor any other national leg - islation provides for the use of emergency arbitrators. 6.3 Security for Costs Neither the Arbitratoin Act nor any other national legis - lation provides for the court and/or an arbitral tribunal to order security for costs. As stated in 2.1 Governing Law , the law in the TCI is as it was in England and Wales before the Arbitration Act 1934. Section 4 of the Arbitration Act provides that “a sub - mission, unless a contrary intention is expressed therein, shall be deemed to include the provisions set out in the Schedule, so far as they are applicable to the reference under the submission”. The Schedule contains nine short paragraphs dealing with, inter alia: • the number of arbitrators; • the timing of the making of the award; • the examination of the parties by the arbitrators or umpire; • the examination of witnesses on oath; • the final and binding nature of the award; and • the costs. Apart from the foregoing, there are no laws or rules governing the procedure of arbitration in the TCI. 7.2 Procedural Steps Apart from as provided in 7.1 Governing Rules , there are no particular procedural steps that are required by law. 7. Procedure 7.1 Governing Rules
Save as stated in 5.2 Circumstances for Court Inter- vention , the Arbitration Act does not deal with judicial review of questions of admissibility and/or jurisdiction. 5.5 Breach of Arbitration Agreement See 3.3 National Courts’ Approach . Further, Section 5 of the Arbitration Act provides that if a party to an arbitration agreement (or any person claiming through or under that party) commences court proceedings in breach of an arbitration agreement: • any party to those proceedings may – at any time after entering an appearance and before delivering any pleadings or taking any other step in the pro - ceedings – apply to the court to stay the proceed - ings; and • the court may make an order staying the proceed - ings if satisfied that: (a) there is no sufficient reason why the matter should not be referred in accordance with the arbitration agreement; and (b) the party bringing the application was (at the time when the court proceedings were com - menced) and remains ready and willing to do all things necessary for the proper conduct of the arbitration. Based on experience, the courts in the TCI are gener - ally in favour of adhering to the arbitration agreement and thus reluctant to allow court proceedings brought in breach of an arbitration agreement to proceed. 5.6 Jurisdiction Over Third Parties There is nothing in the Arbitration Act dealing with the ability of an arbitral tribunal to assume jurisdiction over individuals or entities that are neither party to an arbitration agreement nor signatories to the contract in which the arbitration agreement is contained. 6. Preliminary and Interim Relief 6.1 Types of Relief There are no provisions in the Arbitration Act dealing with preliminary or interim relief.
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