Jurisdiction: preliminary rulings on jurisdiction

In Armada Ship Management (S) Pte Ltd v Schiste Oil and Gas Nigeria Ltd [2021] EWHC 1094 (Comm); [2021] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 329 Cockerill J considered an application by the claimant, with the permission of the arbitrator, for a preliminary ruling under section 32 of the Arbitration Act 1996 on the validity of the arbitrator’s appointment. The question of principle posed by the application was whether a section 32 application should be permitted to go ahead in circumstances where the respondent had refused to participate in the arbitration and had thus relied upon its rights under section 72 of the 1996 Act to challenge the jurisdiction of the tribunal.

Armada Ship Management : the facts