the Court's answering the questions put to it in one way or another; next, directions as to how and when they are to be paid or done (where such directions are necessary); finally, such directions as to the costs of the reference as it is within the lay tribunal's province to give (c).

It is not always possible to follow this form in its entirety, for sometimes the questions put to the Court admit of so many different answers that all the alternative consequences of those answers cannot be foreseen and reduced to pounds, shillings and pence before the answers are given. But where it is a comparatively simple matter to do so it is advisable to draw up the award as indicated above, the object being to avoid the necessity of its having to be sent back to the lay tribunal for further consideration.

The Execution of an Award. An award which embodies the joint decisions of two or more arbitrators should be signed by each in the presence of, and at the same time as, the other or others, as it may otherwise be invalid. It is a prudent course also to obtain the signature of a witness to its execution, such witness signing the award immediately below the signatures of its authors.

An award must be stamped with an impressed 10s. stamp irrespective of its subject-matter, the form of its execution and the number of the parties affected by it3. If it is not stamped at the time when it is executed it can only be stamped on payment of a penalty of £10. But it will not be set aside on account of the lack of a stamp, and, unless an attempt is made to enforce it by judicial process, the fact that it bears a stamp adds nothing to its practical value.

Provided that an award be duly executed by its proper

(c) See Chapter X.

author, the fact that any number of other persons (including arbitrators in the same reference whose authority has lapsed in favour of the umpire) join with him in the execution does not invalidate it. On the other hand if the submission is to more than one arbitrator and the arbitrators eventually make an award it must be executed by all of them, unless there is special provision in the submission for a majority award or some other similar arrangement whereby fewer than all are permitted to execute. An instance of the necessity for great care was where by the submission the arbitrators were authorized "to appoint any other indifferent person to be umpire in, or to concur with them, in considering and determining" the matter referred; it was held (d) that the parties were not bound by an award made by that umpire alone?.

Any special requirements-e.g. sealing-mentioned in the submission should be complied with so as to ensure the validity of the award (e).

Only one award can be made unless there is special provison in the submission for more; occasionally a submission provides for a preliminary or intermediate award.

The Characteristics of a Valid Award. In view of what is pointed out elsewhere it will be sufficient very briefly to summarize the characteristics which an award must possess if it is to be valid and enforceable in the King's Courts. Thus it must be final on all matters which are submitted and brought to the notice of the tribunal; it must not deal

(d) Though this is an old case and would perhaps not be followed to-day, it seems that the point must be noticed.

(e) Several of the reported cases on this point are inconsistent. But the Court would not to-day give full force to an award if all the material requirements had not been met; and it would always be an open question whether a particular requirement were material or not until the decision of the Court were given.

with matters which were not submitted to the arbitration of its author9; it must be couched in definite and unambiguous terms10; it must not direct the doing of that which it is impossible11 or illegal12 to do; it must give the necessary directions as to how the rights given by it are to be enforced13; it must comply with any special provisions in the submission; and, finally, it must be duly stamped.

The Position of a Third Party. If a stranger to a submission claims an interest in the subject-matter of the reference through one of the parties thereto he will be bound by the award as much as the parties themselves. A simple example of such a position would be this: the reference being to determine the shares in a ship owned respectively by A and B, S, to whom A has purported to mortgage a two-fifths share, will be bound by an award to the effect that A's share was only one-fifth at the time when the transaction was effected; in other words the arbitration will have conclusively established the fact that S never received a good title to a two-fifths share from A and is therefore prevented from claiming the ownership of such share.

An award will also bind an assignee of one of the parties to the submission14, and the personal representatives (f) of a party who died after (g) the award was made15.

Cases also occur in which a stranger to the original submission, learning that an arbitration is about to commence (or has commenced) in the subject-matter of which he has an interest, applies to the tribunal and the parties to be allowed to join in the proceedings and enters into a new submission to which both the original parties and himself

(f) I.e. executors, etc.

(g) As to the position where a party dies before the award is made, see p. 43.

set their hands. There is nothing irregular in such procedure. But the newcomer is no longer a third party in the sense of being outside the submission, inasmuch as the proceedings will be governed entirely by the new submission 16.

A somewhat similar case is that in which a third party, S, intervenes by consenting to be made a party to the submission when the submission takes the form of an order of the Court (made by consent of the original parties, A and B) whereby an action and all matters in difference between the three are referred to arbitration. An award on such a reference which directs the payment of money by or to any of the three by or to any other will be valid1, and will be binding on S if it can be shewn that in fact he consented to the proceedings 18.

Again, it is open to a person, A, to submit on behalf of a stranger, S, to the award of a lay tribunal in a reference of matters in difference between S and B. In that case S will not himself be bound by the award "because he was a stranger to the submission, but [A] who submitted is bound, because he took it upon himself " 19. If, therefore, S fails to obey the directions contained in the award, A can be made responsible for his failure.

Now, the tribunal can properly direct S to do an act, or to pay a sum of money, for the benefit of B in the above case; but it will be exceeding its jurisdiction (h) if, in a reference of matters in dispute between C and D, it directs T (a stranger to the submission) to prejudice his interests in C's or D's favour when neither C nor D (respectively) have submitted on T's behalf20, unless it is clear from the submission

(h) And therefore its award will be set aside by the Court on application by one of the parties. See p. 144.

that either D or C (respectively) undertook to persuade T to act in such a way21, or unless D or C (respectively) has it in his power lawfully to compel T to act in such a way22

Next, there is the case of a direction in an award that one of the parties shall pay money to a stranger. Provided that the payment is for the benefit of another party to the submission and is concerned with, or arises out of, the matter referred, such a direction will not vitiate the award 23.

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The Publication of an Award. The term "publication " in this connexion is misleading, for it has been held that an award is published" when its author gives notice to the parties that it is ready for delivery and may be had on payment of its charges, whether such charges are reasonable or not 24. But the significance of the term may (like any other) be affected by its context: thus, where an order of reference required that the arbitrator should "make and publish his award in writing, ready to be delivered to the parties" by a certain day, it was held that the award was published" (within the meaning of the order) when it was executed 25.

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Further," publication " or " publication to the parties " never entails more than notice to the parties that the award is ready, i.e. it does not mean that they must be advised of its contents 26.

The Construction of an Award. It is reported that in the year 1731 "My Lord Raymond observed that the books are growing less and less nice every day in the construction of awards" 27. The departure from tiresome precision to which the learned Judge drew attention has continued throughout the years which have since elapsed, with the result that to-day the Courts apply two broad and simple principles. These Mr. Justice McCardie recently mentioned