The arbitral tribunal may rule on its own jurisdiction, including ruling on any objections with respect to the existence or validity of the arbitration agreement, and for that purpose, an arbitration clause which forms part of a contract shall be treated as an agreement independent of the other terms of the contract, and a decision by the arbitral tribunal that the contract is null and void shall not entail ipso jure the invalidity of the arbitration clause.
§ 1297.161.Arbitration Clause Forming Part of Contract Treated As Agreement Independent of Other Terms of Contract
Title 9.3. Arbitration and Conciliation of International Commercial Disputes · Chapter 4. Jurisdiction of Arbitral Tribunals · Article 1. Competence of an Arbitral Tribunal to Rule on its Jurisdiction · Enacted 1988 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1297.161 lets an arbitral tribunal rule on its own jurisdiction, including any challenge to the arbitration agreement's existence or validity, and treats an arbitration clause as legally severable from the rest of the contract so a finding the contract is void does not by itself void the clause.
Full Text of § 1297.161
Plain-English Summary
This section hands the tribunal the first word on whether it even has the authority to hear a case. When one side argues there is no valid arbitration agreement at all, the tribunal does not have to pause and send that question to a court before doing anything else. It can decide the jurisdictional objection itself, along with the rest of the dispute.
The second half of the section backs that power with a separate legal fiction: an arbitration clause inside a larger contract stands on its own. If the tribunal later finds the surrounding contract null and void, that finding does not automatically drag the arbitration clause down with it. The clause is treated as an independent agreement, which is what lets the tribunal rule on a claim that the whole contract is invalid without talking itself out of jurisdiction in the process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who decides first whether a valid arbitration agreement exists?
The arbitral tribunal itself may rule on that question, along with any other jurisdictional objection.
If the tribunal finds the underlying contract void, does the arbitration clause fall too?
Not automatically -- the clause is treated as an agreement independent of the rest of the contract, so a void-contract finding does not by itself invalidate it.
Does a party have to go to court first to challenge the tribunal's jurisdiction?
No -- the tribunal can rule on that challenge itself, subject to the later court-review path in Section 1297.166.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1988, Ch. 23, Sec. 1. Effective March 7, 1988.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 29, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: competence competence arbitration californiaseverability of arbitration clause