Page:Halsbury Laws of England v1 1907.pdf/704

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Arbiteation.

482 Sect.

1.

Appeal has a similar power with respect

of

before

In General.

to appeals

pending

it (z).

made under these powers are references for inquiry or report (a), and

Keferences under order of Court

two kinds, namely

of

(1)

references for trial

(2)

(b).

999. Apart from the above statutory jurisdiction to make orders and always has had, power to direct a reference to arbitration in all cases where the parties desire that the cause or matter should be referred instead of being litigated in Court (c) but an order for reference made under this inherent jurisdiction of the Court must be carefully distinguished from an order of reference for trial made under the jurisdiction conferred by

References

by consent.

for reference, the Court has,



the Arbitration Act, 1889. Where the order for reference is made under the Arbitration Act, 1889, the subject-matter of the reference must be limited to the cause or matter pending before the Court (d). The referee or arbitrator is deemed to be an officer of the Court, and has such authority, and must conduct the reference in such manner, as is prescribed by the rules of Court, and subject to those rules as the Court or a judge may direct {e). Moreover, his decision is, unless set aside by the Court or a judge, equivalent to the verdict of a jury (/).

References

under Arbitration Act, 1889.

rules of Court and to any right to have particular cases tried by a jury, the Court or a judge may refer any question arising in any cause or matter (other than a criminal proceeding by the Crown) for inquiry or report to any official or special referee." And by sect. 14, "In any cause or matter (other than a criminal proceeding by the Crown), (a) if all the parties interested who are not under disability consent, or " (b) If the cause or matter requires any prolonged examination of documents or any scientific or local investigation which cannot in the opinion of the Court or a judge conveniently be made before a jury or conducted by the Court through its other ordinary officers, or (c) If the question in dispute consists wholly or in part of matters of account, the Court or a judge may at any time order the whole cause or matter, or any question or issue of fact arising therein, to be tried before a special referee or arbitrator respectively agreed on by the parties, or before an official referee or officer of the Court." "Her Majesty's Court of {z) Arbitration Act, 1889 (52 & 53 Yict. c. 49), s. 17 Appeal shall have all the powers conferred by this Act on the Court or a judge thereof under the provisions relating to references under order of the Court." (a) Ibid., s. 13 (1), supra. (b) Ibid., s. 14, supra. (c) Formerly, when the parties to an action pending before the Court agreed that the matter in difference between them should be referred to arbitration, the Court gave effect to their agreement by making a rule of Court for the reference The of such matter to arbitration; see Hide v. Petit (1671), Ch. Cas. 185. practice of referring matters to arbitration by rule of Court gave rise to the earliest statute with regard to arbitrations by submission out of Court (9 & 10 Will. 3, c. 15), which begins by reciting that "it hath been found by experience that references made by rule of Court have contributed much to the ease of the subject in the determining of controversies because the parties become thereby obliged to submit to the award of the arbitrators under the penalty of imprisonment for their contempt " should they refuse to do so, and goes on to provide that certain submissions might be made rules of Court. (d) Darlington Wagon Co., Ltd. v. Harding and the Trouville Pier and Steamboat Co., Ltd., [1891] 1 Q. B. 245. (e) Arbitration Act, 1889 (52 & 53 Vict. c. 49), s. 15 (1). (/) Ibid., s. 15 (2). See p. 490, post. ' *

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