Legal Network Television publish a series for legal practitioners which is intended to provide regular updates on the law and as a CPD qualifying exercise for solicitors in particular. Two fairly recent videos in this series deal with Arbitration - catchily titled "The Arbitration Act 1996 - Programme 379 and Programme 385".

The first is a vanilla flavoured introduction to the background of how the Act came into being and the aims and objectives which are enshrined in the Act itself. Lord Justice Saville, Dr. Julian Lew, Alan Redfern, barrister, and Toby Landau, barrister, all contribute to the video, some of which is shot alongside a modern container port which makes visually the point that new methods can sometimes bring superior results.

The videos were made before the Commencement Order was laid and the complications resulting from its final form were not therefore known to the makers of the programme. There is however a good discussion of the "seat" of the arbitration and what that means. The video raises, en passant without resolving them, a number of interesting points. Can the duty of the arbitrator to proceed in an expeditious manner be in conflict with the parties agreeing to proceed in a sub-optimal manner? Would a failure of an arbitrator to do his duty and proceed in a timely manner be grounds for his removal? What would constitute "bad faith" such as to prevent an arbitrator from benefiting from immunity of process? What constitutes an "agreement in writing"?

The second video in the series looks at procedure and practice. The authors of Order 73, His Honour Judge Diamond and Toby Landau, discuss the changes in practice that this brings, in particular how actions are commenced and how arbitrators might be joined as respondents to an application and their rights to be informed.

Secondly, it looks at the drafting of arbitration agreements and the implications for scheme rules. It discusses also which optional powers are likely to be incorporated into the agreement itself. Thirdly, it takes a wary look at whether the new Act has opened up any new loopholes for challenging arbitrators awards and whether old ones are totally closed. It is suggested that challenges to arbitrators’ awards will not go away. In particular section 33 may have provided a new ground of breach of the arbitrator’s duty to proceed expeditiously and also section 69 might have opened a loophole of "serious irregularity" for arbitrators attempting to impose a novel fast-track procedures upon the parties.

Finally, a discussion involving Mr. Justice Andrew Longmore and Geoffrey Beresford Hartwell, adroitly fields some "fast ball" ques- tions intended to provoke further discussion.

Overall the videos are valuable. They are authoritative and allow an opportunity to hear the considered views of the originators of the legislation. For arbitrators they are also valuable as giving a procedural view of the process they not used to seeing. In effect they are a "customers" view, and it is interesting to regard it in that way.

The cassettes and accompanying notes are available direct from Legal Network Television at 2, Breams Buildings, London EC4A 1DP, telephone 0171 611 7400. Institute members may order them at a concessionary price of £70 for one video and £120 for two (excluding VAT). Each cassette runs for about 30 minutes.