The court discusses the meaning and effect of the referral of the resolution of disputes to arbitration, including: who can ask for referral and when, whether a party has waived its right to request arbitration, the defense that there was no contract at all; whether there was a condition precedent to the commencement of arbitration (e.g. mediation), stay of proceedings v. compelling arbitration, and national procedural specificities such as remand and removal (US), effect of class action. etc.

The court discusses how to determine that there is a dispute as a condition for referral to arbitration.

The court discusses whether a declaratory judgment on the validity of the arbitration agreement is available under the Convention.

Multi-party disputes: The court discusses under which conditions non-signatories are covered by an arbitration agreement entered into by another party.