[6] England and Wales is one of the very few developed jurisdictions in the world which has consciously elected not to follow the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration.

The legislation specifies that "The tribunal shall comply with that general duty in conducting the arbitral proceedings, in its decisions on matters of procedure and evidence and in the exercise of all other powers conferred on it.

"[9] Procedural and evidential matters include:[9] The Act also imposes a duty on the parties to "do all things necessary for the proper and expeditious conduct of the arbitral proceedings.

"[10] If any legal proceedings are commenced against a party which are subject to an arbitration agreement, then the party may apply to the court for a stay of those legal proceedings, and the Act provides that the court "shall grant a stay unless [it is] satisfied that the arbitration agreement is null and void, inoperative, or incapable of being performed.

[13] According to Lord Justice Popplewell, "this relatively short period of time reflects the principle of speedy finality which underpins the Act".