The Validation Principle and Arbitration Agreements: Difficult Cases Make Bad Law - Arbitration: The International Journal of Arbitration, Mediation and Dispute Management View The Validation Principle and Arbitration Agreements: Difficult Cases Make Bad Law by - Arbitration: The International Journal of Arbitration, Mediation and Dispute Management The Validation Principle and Arbitration Agreements: Difficult Cases Make Bad Law 88 2

The cases of Kabab-Ji SAL (Lebanon) v. Kout Food Group (Kuwait) [2021] UKSC 48 (26 October 2021) and Enka Insaat Ve Sanayi AS v. OOO Insurance Company Chubb (Rev1) [2020] UKSC 38 both considered the validation principle but from different stages in the arbitration. The validation principle is an established principle of contractual interpretation. Where there is ambiguity in a contract, the law presumes that the interpretation that upholds the validity of the contract will prevail. Therefore, if the parties have chosen two laws to apply to an arbitration agreement, the law will presume that the one which upholds the arbitration agreement will apply. However, at the enforcement stage of an award the validation principle no longer applies. The result is that the law may require parties to settle their disputes by arbitration only to find that the award is not enforceable because there is no valid arbitration agreement.

Arbitration: The International Journal of Arbitration, Mediation and Dispute Management