Where the arbitral tribunal has not ruled on an objection to its jurisdiction, the court shall not grant preclusive effect to the tribunal's findings until the court has made an independent finding as to the jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal. If the court rules that the arbitral tribunal did not have jurisdiction, the application for interim measures of relief shall be denied. Such a ruling by the court that the arbitral tribunal lacks jurisdiction is not binding on the arbitral tribunal or subsequent judicial proceeding.
§ 1297.95.Preclusive Effect to Tribunal's Findings Given Until Court Finding On Jurisdiction
Title 9.3. Arbitration and Conciliation of International Commercial Disputes · Chapter 2. Arbitration Agreements and Judicial Measures in Aid of Arbitration · Article 3. Court-Ordered Interim Measures · Enacted 1988 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1297.95 bars a court from giving preclusive effect to an arbitral tribunal's findings while a jurisdictional objection remains unresolved, requires the court to independently decide the tribunal's jurisdiction first, and denies interim relief if the court finds the tribunal lacked jurisdiction, without that ruling binding the tribunal or any later court proceeding.
Full Text of § 1297.95
Plain-English Summary
Section 1297.94's deference to the tribunal's findings has one important precondition, and this section supplies it: the tribunal has to have already ruled on its own jurisdiction first. If a party has objected to the tribunal's jurisdiction and the tribunal has not yet decided that objection, the court cannot defer to the tribunal's other findings on that strength alone. Instead, the court has to make its own independent determination of whether the tribunal has jurisdiction before it can treat any of the tribunal's findings as conclusive.
If that independent review leads the court to conclude the tribunal lacks jurisdiction, the practical consequence is immediate: the application for interim measures of relief has to be denied. But the court's jurisdictional ruling in this narrow context does not travel any further than that. The tribunal itself remains free to reach its own conclusion about its jurisdiction, and neither the arbitral tribunal nor any later judicial proceeding is bound by what the court decided here.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if the arbitral tribunal hasn't yet ruled on its own jurisdiction?
The court cannot give preclusive effect to the tribunal's findings until the court itself independently determines whether the tribunal has jurisdiction.
What happens to a request for interim relief if the court decides the tribunal lacks jurisdiction?
The application for interim measures of relief must be denied.
Does the court's jurisdictional ruling here bind the arbitral tribunal going forward?
No -- the ruling is not binding on the arbitral tribunal or on any subsequent judicial proceeding.
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: court jurisdiction ruling arbitral tribunal interim reliefunresolved jurisdiction objection arbitration california