Western Australian Consolidated Acts Western Australian Consolidated Acts (1) The following
provisions of this subsection apply to arbitration proceedings all of which
have the same arbitrator or umpire —
(a) the
arbitrator or umpire may, on the application of a party in each of the
arbitration proceedings, order —
(i)
those proceedings to be consolidated on such terms as the
arbitrator or umpire thinks just;
(ii)
those proceedings to be heard at the same time, or one
immediately after the other; or
(iii)
any of those proceedings to be stayed until after the
determination of any of them;
(b) if
the arbitrator or umpire refuses or fails to make such an order, the Court
may, on application by a party in any of the proceedings, make such an order
as could have been made by the arbitrator or umpire.
(2) The following
provisions of this subsection apply to arbitration proceedings not all of
which have the same arbitrator or umpire —
(a) the
arbitrator or umpire for any one of the arbitration proceedings may, on the
application of a party in the proceeding, provisionally order —
(i)
the proceeding to be consolidated with other arbitration
proceedings on such terms as the arbitrator or umpire thinks just;
(ii)
the proceeding to be heard at the same time as other
arbitration proceedings, or one immediately after the other; or
(iii)
any of those proceedings to be stayed until after the
determination of any of them;
(b) an
order ceases to be provisional when consistent provisional orders have been
made for all of the arbitration proceedings concerned;
(c) the
arbitrators or umpires for arbitration proceedings may communicate with each
other for the purpose of conferring on the desirability of making orders under
this subsection and of deciding on the terms of any such order;
(d) if a
provisional order is made for at least one of the arbitration proceedings
concerned, but the arbitrator or umpire for another of the proceedings refuses
or fails to make such an order (having received an application from a party to
make such an order), the Court may, on application by a party in any of the
proceedings, make an order or orders that could have been made under this
subsection;
(e) if
inconsistent provisional orders are made for the arbitration proceedings, the
Court may, on application by a party in any of the proceedings, alter the
orders to make them consistent.
(3) An order or a
provisional order may not be made under this section unless it appears —
(a) that
some common question of law or fact arises in all of the arbitration
proceedings;
(b) that
the rights to relief claimed in all of the proceedings are in respect of or
arise out of the same transaction or series of transactions; or
(c) that
for some other reason it is desirable to make the order or provisional order.
(4) When arbitration
proceedings are to be consolidated under this section, the arbitrator or
umpire for the consolidated proceedings shall be the person agreed on for the
purpose by all the parties to the individual proceedings, but, failing any
such agreement, the Court may appoint an arbitrator or umpire for the
consolidated proceedings.
(5) Any proceedings
before an arbitrator or umpire for the purposes of this section shall be taken
to be part of the arbitration proceedings concerned.
(6) Arbitration
proceedings may be commenced or continued, notwithstanding that an application
to consolidate them is pending under subsection (1) or (2) and
notwithstanding that a provisional order has been made in relation to them
under subsection (2).
(7)
Subsections (1) and (2) apply in relation to arbitration proceedings
whether or not all or any of the parties are common to some or all of the
proceedings.
(8) Nothing in
subsection (1) or (2) prevents the parties to 2 or more arbitration
proceedings from agreeing to consolidate those proceedings and taking such
steps as are necessary to effect that consolidation.
[Section 26 inserted by No. 43 of 1997
s. 11.]