Lord Phillips CJ :

This is the judgment of the court.

1. This appeal came before this court as an application for permission to appeal from an order of David Steel J dated 12 January 2006, dismissing the claimant (Amir’s) application for an interim injunction against the first defendant, Anthony Julius, with the appeal to follow should permission be granted. This is an unusual case raising important issues of principle and, accordingly, we think it appropriate to give permission to appeal. We shall proceed to deal with the appeal, which was fully argued.

2. The relief that Amir seeks in the action in which these proceedings arise includes a declaration that an arbitration agreement providing for both Swiss law and a Swiss seat of the arbitration is void and an injunction restraining the first defendant, Mr Julius, the arbitrator under that agreement, from acting as such. The first three defendants have all sought orders that have the common theme that this court should not entertain the claim to this relief, but should leave Amir to advance it in Switzerland. The issue is to be resolved in proceedings before Colman J, which have now been fixed for hearing in April with a time estimate of 4 days. Mr Julius has made it plain that he intends, before the matter comes before Colman J, to hold his own hearing on the issue of his jurisdiction. The present proceedings raise the question of whether he should be permitted to do so.