Section 1 Staying court proceedings where party proves arbitration agreement.

If any party to an arbitration agreement to which this section applies, or any person claiming through or under him, commences any legal proceedings in any court against any other party to the agreement, or any person claiming through or under him, in respect of any matter agreed to be referred, any party to the proceedings may at any time after appearance, and before delivering any pleadings or taking any other steps in the proceedings, apply to the court to stay the proceedings; and the court, unless satisfied that the arbitration agreement is null and void, inoperative or incapable of being performed or that there is not in fact any dispute between the parties with regard to the matter agreed to be referred, shall make an order staying the proceedings.

This section applies to any arbitration agreement which is not a domestic arbitration agreement; and neither section 4(1) of the M1Arbitration Act 1950 nor section 4 of the M2Arbitration Act (Northern Ireland) 1937 shall apply to an arbitration agreement to which this section applies.

In the application of this section to Scotland, for the references to staying proceedings there shall be substituted references to sisting proceedings.

In this section “domestic arbitration agreement” means an arbitration agreement which does not provide, expressly or by implication, for arbitration in a State other than the United Kingdom and to which neither—

is a party at the time the proceedings are commenced.