Commencement of arbitration proceedings: extension of time

Section 12 of the Arbitration Act 1996 empowers a court to extend the contractual time limits for the commencement of an arbitration. The legislation is drawn in much narrower terms than its predecessor, section 27 of the Arbitration Act 1996, and focuses on the parties’ agreement with regards to a time bar. In the absence of exceptional circumstances, based either on circumstances not contemplated when the contract was made or conduct on the part of the defendant, an order will not be made. The section was discussed by Cockerill J in FIMBank plc v KCH Shipping Co Ltd (The Giant Ace) [2020] EWHC 1765 (Comm).

FIMBank : the facts