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# When a Typo Becomes a Jurisdictional Problem
- URL: https://internationalarbitrationobserver.com/when-a-typo-becomes-a-jurisdictional-problem/
- Published: 2026-09-22T20:49:50.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-22T20:49:50.000Z
- Author: Pierluigi Salvati
- Tags: Commercial Arbitration

A seemingly minor drafting error can produce a rather significant arbitration question. In **SARR Freights Corporation v Argo Coral Maritime Ltd.**, the Delhi High Court was asked to decide whether an arbitration agreement existed at all.

The parties’ earlier Fixture Recap referred to **“English law and London arbitration”**. The subsequently signed Booking Note, however, expressly incorporated only **Clauses 20–41** of the attached riders. The arbitration clause was **Clause 43**. The respondent argued that “41” was simply a typographical error: the parties had plainly intended “43”, and the earlier Fixture Recap confirmed that intention.

The Court disagreed, and the reasoning is worth noticing. The Booking Note was the **final signed agreement**, expressly providing that its terms would prevail over previous arrangements. And the parties had not simply signed a standard form: they had actively amended and supplemented its special terms.

Most importantly, the Court drew a sharp line between **interpreting a contract** and **correcting one**. Under Indian law, once parties have reduced their agreement to a clear and unambiguous written instrument, prior correspondence cannot ordinarily be used to contradict, vary, add to or subtract from its terms.

The consequence here was striking: **no Clause 43, no arbitration agreement — and therefore no arbitration.** The Court ultimately granted an **anti-arbitration injunction**, restraining the LMAA proceedings.

We often treat the arbitration clause as the contractual equivalent of a “do not touch” provision. But its survival depends on something more basic: **consent**. And, sometimes, **the difference between arbitration and no arbitration is just two digits.**