A core appeal of arbitration is to provide a quick and efficient adjudication. Yet, arbitral disputes are still prone to spiral into jurisdictional turf wars between tribunal and court – a phenomenon that can be aptly analogised as a “multi-body problem”. To resolve this problem, the common law courts of England, Singapore and Hong Kong have had to evolve beyond the traditional arbitral doctrines (ie, kompetenz-kompetenz, one-stop presumption, arbitrability and choice of remedies) and develop new dynamic principles (ie, centre of gravity, hiving-off and transnational estoppel). This paradigm shift epitomises the importance of expedient, effective and expansive curial intervention in determining jurisdictional challenges in international arbitration.