TURKS & CAICOS Law and Practice Contributed by: Stephen M Wilson KC, Wilson Wells
9. Confidentiality 9.1 Extent of Confidentiality
annum may be awarded pursuant to Section 20 of the Civil Procedure Act (Chapter 4.01). Section 19 of the Arbitration Act provides that any award made thereunder may be made on such terms as to costs, or otherwise, as the authority making the order thinks just. Paragraph 9 of the Schedule to the Arbitration Act provides the following: “The costs of the reference and award shall be in the discretion of the arbitrators or umpire who may direct to and by whom and in what manner those costs or any part thereof shall be paid, and may tax or settle the amount of costs to be paid or any part thereof, and may award costs to be paid as between attorney and client.” The general rule applied is that costs follow the event. There is no route of appeal against an award made in the TCI. The only provisions relate to the setting aside of an award on the following limited grounds: • per Section 16 (2) of the Arbitration Act, the court may set aside the award where an arbitrator, umpire or referee has misconducted themselves or where the arbitration award has been improperly procured; and • pursuant to Order 73, Rule 2 (2) of the Rules of the Supreme Court 2000, an application may be made to a single judge in court for a declaration that an award is not binding on a party to the award on the ground that it was made without jurisdiction. 11. Review of an Award 11.1 Grounds for Appeal Per Order 73, Rule 4, an application to court to set aside an award under Section 16 (2) of the Arbitration Act or otherwise must be made within six weeks after the award has been made and published to the par - ties. In the case of every such application, the notice of motion must state in general terms the grounds of the application and – where the motion is founded on evidence by affidavit – a copy of every affidavit intended to be used must be served with that notice.
Neither the Arbitration Act nor any other legislation deals with privacy and confidentiality in the arbitration context. The relevant law is therefore the common law and the obligation of confidentiality is implied into the arbitration agreement as a matter of law – albeit sub - ject to exceptions and the reservations expressed by the Privy Council in Associated Electric & Gas Insur- ance Services Ltd v European Reinsurance Co of Zurich (2003) UKPC 11 at (20).
10. The Award 10.1 Legal Requirements Arbitral awards are to be made in writing.
Paragraph 3 of the Schedule to the Arbitration Act provides that arbitrators must make their award “with - in three months after entering on the reference or after having been called on to act by notice in writing from any party to the submission or on or before any later date to which the arbitrators by writing signed by them, may from time to time extend the time for mak - ing the award”. Section 15 of the Arbitration Act also gives a power to the arbitrators, umpire and the court to extend the time for the award. Otherwise, there are no other legal requirements ford an arbitral award. 10.2 Types of Remedies There are no statutory provisions in the Arbitration Act or elsewhere dealing with the types or remedies avail - able to a party in an arbitration in the TCI or the limits on the arbitral tribunal. However, the general com - mon-law rules apply and so punitive damages would not be available in an arbitration governed by TCI law. 10.3 Recovering Interest and Legal Costs The Arbitration Act contains no provisions dealing with the award of interest. However, assuming any award were to be enforced through the Supreme Court, stat - utory post-judgment interest at the rate of 6% per
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