CARBON COMMODITIES DMCC vs. TRUST LINK

ADJEI FRIMPONG JA: At the heart of this appeal lies the question of waiver of an arbitration agreement which in effect, precludes a party’s right to apply for stay of proceedings, for purposes of reference to arbitration of a matter commenced at the court. In the trial court, it was the defendant/appellant (herein “the appellant”) who had applied to stay proceedings and have the matter referred to arbitration which application was, of course, resisted by the plaintiff/respondent (herein “the respondent”). The events preceding the commencement of the action at the trial court are not too crucial to the determination of this appeal. Suffice it to state that the parties had a contract for the sale and supply of fish to be delivered by the respondent to the appellant. It was not in any dispute that the contract of sale which was in writing had an arbitration clause. Attached to the affidavit of the appellant in support of the application as Exhibit “TL”, the contract cont...