Introduction to London maritime arbitration (LMAA)

What the course covers

London maritime arbitration runs through the London Maritime Arbitrators Association. The course starts from the LMAA Terms 2021, the current version, which apply to arbitral proceedings commenced on or after 1 May 2021.

The first part is the frame of the procedure. The seat of the arbitration is in England unless the parties agree otherwise. Where the arbitration agreement does not state the number of arbitrators, it is deemed to provide for a tribunal of three. Once the initial submissions close, the parties complete the Questionnaire within fourteen days, the document that sets the procedural direction of the reference.

The second part is the two shorter-form procedures. The Small Claims Procedure 2021 applies where the total of the claims and the total of any counterclaims do not exceed US$100,000: a fixed fee, a documents-only award with no hearing save in exceptional circumstances, and a deemed waiver by the parties of all rights of appeal to the courts. The Intermediate Claims Procedure 2021 covers the band above US$100,000 and up to US$400,000: there is no automatic right to an oral hearing and, where one is held, it is limited to one working day of five hours; recoverable costs are capped at 30% of the monetary claim, or 50% where there is an oral hearing.

The statutory framework is the Arbitration Act 2025, which received Royal Assent on 24 February 2025 and came into force on 1 August 2025. It amends the Arbitration Act 1996 and inserts a section 6A: the law applicable to the arbitration agreement is the law the parties expressly agree and, absent such agreement, the law of the seat of the arbitration.

Who it is for

Owners, charterers, freight forwarders with international traffic and in-house legal teams who negotiate arbitration clauses or run live references. Regular work with English-language contracts is assumed.

Why it matters

An arbitration clause is drafted when the fixture is closed and read years later. An incomplete reference to the LMAA Terms, an unstated number of arbitrators or an unagreed seat open up argument before the merits are reached.

The monetary threshold decides the procedure and with it the cost. A claim for US$95,000 and one for US$420,000 take different routes in timetable, hearings and recoverable costs.

Programme

• LMAA Terms 2021: scope, seat and number of arbitrators
• Commencing the reference, appointment and constitution of the tribunal
• Submissions, the Questionnaire and procedural direction
• Small Claims Procedure 2021: threshold, fixed fee and waiver of appeal
• Intermediate Claims Procedure 2021: band, limited hearing and costs cap
• Arbitration Acts 1996 and 2025: section 6A, the award and challenges