Australian Appellate decision: even pro-arbitration courts will not easily excuse fundamental non-compliance with the parties’ agreement

In a judgment handed down on 25 June 2021, the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia overturned a first instance court’s decision and refused to enforce an arbitration award on the basis that:

(1) the sending of an arbitration notice; and

(2) the composition of an arbitral tribunal,

had not occurred in accordance with the parties’ agreement undermining both the structural integrity of the arbitration as well as the tribunal’s jurisdiction.