The VAR Protocol says “The referee`s original decision will not be changed unless there was a ‘clear and obvious error’”. Scottish arbitrators have a similar rule. Statutory rule 70(3)(c) in the Arbitration (Scotland) Act 2010 provides that leave to challenge ...

Modern housing developments and in particular the management of or ownership within, blocks of flats often have arbitration agreements. One such was the background in the most recent Scottish court decision on arbitration: Arbitration Application Number 1 of 2026 [2026] ...

Irritancy (the Scottish equivalent of forfeiture) is often the last resort for a commercial landlord. It means finding a new tenant, having the premises cleared, running the risk of rates for a void premises and other inconveniences. But once its ...

Old habits die hard. Some in Scottish domestic arbitration practice are no exception. One is an arbitrator’s issue of a completed draft award to the parties before making the actual award. But why having heard the parties, does an arbitrator ...

Agreeing to sell goods or services over an extended period can be difficult. What happens if the cost of the goods changes over that time ? What if the exchange rates change ? There are so many variable. As a ...

After a five-years as a Scottish Law Commissioner I’m pleased to announce the reopening of my independent arbitration practice, Bartos Arbitration. During that time, I’ve had the opportunity to broaden my perspective and deepen my understanding of the law and ...

“. . . On November 8, 1999, when Mr. McKnight discerned that Mr. Hutchison had withheld firm income from their partnership, he left the office space that the parties had shared and created his own firm, while Mr. Hutchison continued ...

Without a partnership agreement keeping it alive after the death or departure of a partner, the firm dies also. So any well-written partnership agreement keeps the firm alive and gives the continuing partners an option to buy out the share ...

Arbitral Confidentiality v. Freedom of Information Arbitration is a confidential process. Rule 26 of the statutory Scottish Arbitration Rules confirms this as the default position for Scottish-seated arbitrations. But what if one of the parties to an arbitration is a ...

“. . . Those tensions boiled over in October 2013, when there was a fight between Lucy and Sarah in the milking parlour. Lucy and Stuart resigned in the following month. At the time when they left, there were about ...

Section 19 of the Partnership Act 1890 provides: “The mutual rights and duties of partners, whether ascertained by agreement or defined by this Act, may be varied by the consent of all the partners, and such consent may be either ...

Most arbitrations arise from arbitration agreements contained in arbitration clauses that are part of a larger contract whether it be a contract for the supply of goods or services, a partnership agreement, a shareholder agreement or the like. In modern ...

Arbitrations, like all disputes, involve cost. The question is who should bear it at the end of the process ? Usually it’s the party who is unsuccessful. But what happens when both are unsuccessful ? That was the situation in ...

An arbitration agreement binds only the parties who have agreed to it. That comes from the consensual nature of arbitration. It follows that an arbitrator has no jurisdiction or power over a person who has not agreed that he or ...

A key purpose of arbitration is to provide a speedy and cost-effective means of dispute resolution with a final decision that does not lead to appeal. For that reason arbitration awards are almost never overturned unless the aggrieved party can ...