An arbitration process concluded recently in a commercial dispute I was involved in through the Malta Arbitration Centre, and the outcome was not what I expected. I feel the arbitrator misunderstood some key evidence. Can I actually challenge or appeal an arbitration award, or is it truly final?
Arbitration awards are generally intended to be final and binding, and one of the core features of arbitration under the Arbitration Act, Chapter 387 of the Laws of Malta, is that the grounds for challenging an award in court are deliberately much narrower than a full appeal on the merits, meaning simply disagreeing with how the arbitrator weighed the evidence is typically not, on its own, a valid basis to overturn the award. Recognised grounds for challenging an award before the Civil Court, First Hall, generally relate to matters such as a genuine lack of a valid arbitration agreement, a serious procedural irregularity that affected the fairness of the process, the tribunal exceeding its jurisdiction, or the award conflicting with Maltese public policy, rather than a straightforward disagreement over the arbitrator's assessment of the facts or evidence. If you believe there was a genuine procedural irregularity, rather than simply an outcome you disagree with, it would be worth having a lawyer review the full award and the conduct of the proceedings promptly, since challenges to arbitration awards are also subject to strict time limits, and missing these deadlines can foreclose your options entirely regardless of the merits.
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