Arbitration (International Commercial) Act, 1998

PART III

Amendments to Arbitration Acts, 1954 and 1980

Amendment to Arbitration Act, 1954.

17.—The Arbitration Act, 1954 , is hereby amended by substituting the following for section 34:

Interest on awards.

34.—(1) The parties to an arbitration agreement may agree on the powers of the arbitrator or umpire as regards the award of interest.

(2) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the arbitrator or umpire may award simple or compound interest from the dates, at the rates and with the rests that he or she considers meet the justice of the case—

(a) on all or part of any amount awarded by the arbitrator or umpire, in respect of any period up to the date of the award;

(b) on all or part of any amount claimed in the arbitration and outstanding at the commencement of the arbitration but paid before the award was made, in respect of any period up to the date of payment.

(3) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the arbitrator or umpire may award simple or compound interest from the date of the award (or any later date) until payment, at the rates and with the rests that he or she considers meet the justice of the case, on the outstanding amount of any award (including an award of interest under subsection (2) and an award of costs).

(4) References in this section to an amount awarded by an arbitrator or umpire include an amount payable in consequence of a declaratory award by the arbitrator or umpire.

(5) This section shall not apply to an arbitration commenced before the day on which the Arbitration (International Commercial) Act, 1998, comes into operation unless—

(a) the arbitration is concluded after that day, and

(b) the parties agree that this section shall apply.

(6) This section shall apply to an arbitration commenced on or after the day on which the Arbitration (International Commercial) Act, 1998 comes into operation—

(a) under an arbitration agreement entered into on or after that day, or

(b) if the parties so agree, under an arbitration agreement entered into before that day.

(7) This section shall not apply to an arbitration conducted by a property arbitrator appointed under section 2 of the Property Values (Arbitration and Appeals) Act, 1960 .”.