Article 21. Competence of the arbitral court to rule on its jurisdiction

The arbitral court shall be entitled to rule on its own jurisdiction, including on any objections with respect to the existence or validity of the arbitration agreement. For that purpose, an arbitration clause that forms part of a contract shall be construed as an agreement independent of the other terms of the contract. A decision by the arbitral court that the contract is invalid shall not entail, as a matter of law, the invalidity of the arbitration clause.

A statement that the arbitral court does not have jurisdiction may be made no later than submission of a defense statement. A party's appointment of an arbitrator or its participation in the appointment of an arbitrator shall not preclude a party from making such a statement. A statement that the arbitral court exceeds its jurisdiction shall be made as soon as the matter which a party considers to be beyond such limits is raised in the course of arbitral proceedings. The arbitral court shall be entitled to accept in any of these cases a statement made at a later date if it considers the delay to be justified.

The arbitral court shall be entitled to rule on the statement referred to in part 2 of this Article either as a preliminary matter or in an award on the merits of the dispute. If the arbitral court decides as on a preliminary matter that it has jurisdiction, any party shall be entitled to request the court - within thirty days after having received notice of the ruling - to rule on that matter, and such decision shall not be subject to appeal. While such request is pending its resolution, the arbitral court shall be entitled to continue the arbitral proceedings and make an arbitral award.