Time Limits for Challenging Arbitral Awards

A recent decision of the Commercial Court, E v F [2026] EWHC 1493 (Comm), has re-affirmed the strict approach English courts take to the statutory time limit for challenging an arbitral award.

The Commercial Court refused an application to amend a challenge to an arbitral award where the amendment was sought 162 days after the date of the award (more than five times the statutory 28-day deadline), even though the original challenge had been brought before the deadline. The Court considered that if the relevant principles were applied with less force to an amendment application, as the applicant had proposed, that might encourage a scenario where a "challenge launched in time was based on one bad point and a major wide ranging set of challenges is then sought to be introduced by way of amendment."

The decision demonstrates how important it is to get the challenge right first time and to seek advice early. For a detailed analysis read our full Clifford Chance Briefing here.