Commentary on provisions of Act Jurisdiction of tribunal Section 5: Court determination of jurisdiction of tribunal
The 1996 Act (sections 82 and 30) provide that an arbitral tribunal has jurisdiction if there is a valid arbitration agreement, the tribunal is properly constituted, and the matters which have been submitted to arbitration are in accordance with the arbitration agreement.
	A party who participates in the arbitration proceedings might object that the arbitral tribunal lacks jurisdiction. The tribunal itself is usually empowered to decide, in the first instance, whether it has jurisdiction (by section 30 of the 1996 Act). The court can be asked to rule on whether the tribunal has jurisdiction, including as follows. One way is to wait until the tribunal has issued a ruling, and then challenge that ruling under section 67 of the 1996 Act, which allows a challenge to an arbitral award on the basis that the tribunal lacked jurisdiction. Another way is by invoking section 32 of the 1996 Act, which allows the court to decide whether the tribunal has jurisdiction as a preliminary point. Sections 32 and 67 of the 1996 Act have different requirements.
	Section 5 of this Act amends section 32 of the 1996 Act to make clear that it can only be invoked instead of the tribunal ruling on its jurisdiction. If the tribunal has already ruled, then any challenge must be brought through section 67 of the 1996 Act.