Commentary on provisions of Act Miscellaneous minor amendments Section 14: Requirements to be met for court to consider applications
The 1996 Act (section 32) provides that an arbitrating party can apply to the court for the court to make a preliminary ruling on whether the arbitral tribunal has jurisdiction. Under section 45 of the 1996 Act, a party can apply to the court for the court to rule on a preliminary point of law arising in the arbitration.
	Section 14 of this Act amends sections 32 and 45 of the 1996 Act so that an application will require either the agreement of the parties or the permission of the tribunal. It removes the further requirement to satisfy the court on a list of matters. Nevertheless, the court still retains general discretion on whether to accede to the application.