Council loses court appeal

The council appealed for an order to prohibit the disclosure of either itself or contractors Stewart and Shields Ltd under section 15 of the Arbitration (Scotland) Act 2010.

This was opposed by Stewart and Shields Ltd on the grounds that the council had already disclosed the information that it was involved in arbitration proceedings through its annual accounts, meaning any such order would be ineffectual.

Secondly they argued that such a disclosure of involvement was in fact necessary to preserve the company’s commercial interest and inclusion on public authority tender lists.

Ultimately the Court of Session found in favour of Stewart and Shields Ltd in that there had already been public disclosure of the identity of the parties involved, therefore rendering such an order to prohibit the disclosure irrelevant and refused the council’s petition.