Arbitration delay dismissal powers can consider pre-commencement inactivity when deciding stale claims.

Section 13A of the Arbitration Act 1950, inserted by the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990, was held to permit an arbitrator to take account of delay occurring before commencement when deciding whether to dismiss a claim for inordinate and inexcusable delay. Although the dismissal power operated only after commencement, its application depended on the overall period of inactivity, and the presumption against retrospectivity did not require pre-commencement delay to be ignored. The provision was read as aimed at curing stale arbitral claims and aligning arbitration with High Court jurisdiction, so the dismissal was upheld.

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Issues: Whether Section 13A of the Arbitration Act 1950, as inserted by Section 102 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990, permitted the arbitrator to take into account delay occurring before the provision came into force when deciding whether the claim should be dismissed for inordinate and inexcusable delay.

Analysis: The new dismissal power was prospective in the sense that it could be exercised only after commencement, but its operation depended on the existence and length of delay over the whole period during which the claim had remained inactive. The presumption against retrospectivity did not require the pre-commencement period to be ignored. The legislative purpose was to remedy stale arbitral claims and to align arbitration with the existing High Court jurisdiction, and the wording of the provision, together with its statutory background, showed that Parliament intended the new power to apply to claims already marked by significant delay when the section commenced. The claimant had no vested right to insist that prior delay be disregarded.

Conclusion: The arbitrator was entitled to consider delay before commencement of Section 13A, and the dismissal of the claim was upheld.

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