Incorporation by Reference of Separate Arbitration Clause Validates Award

A lower court annulled an arbitration award that had ordered a party to pay damages for breach of a commercial agreement, finding the arbitration clause contained in the agreement to be null because it was physically separated from the main contract text and not explicitly referred to or incorporated by a specific clause, leading the higher court to review whether this separation invalidated the agreement to arbitrate. The high court ruled that the arbitration clause, though physically separate, was validly incorporated by reference into the main contract where the parties explicitly agreed to adopt the general terms and conditions that included the arbitration provision, and therefore, the lower court erred in annulling the award based on a lack of a valid arbitration agreement.