SUMMARY
The Arbitration Act 1996, England and Wales’ arbitration law, has helped London to establish its position as one of the leading places of arbitration in the world. Almost thirty years later, that law is about to be reformed for the first time, with a new Arbitration Bill among the list of legislation to be introduced by the UK’s new Government to enhance economic stability and growth.
This article explains the remarkably open approach of the Law Commission of England and Wales in drafting the new Arbitration Bill, and its major developments: a clear and predictable rule for determining the law applicable to the arbitration agreement; a more restrictive approach to reviewing arbitral tribunals’ decisions on jurisdiction; a codification of the case-law on arbitrators’ duty of disclosure; more protective rules on arbitrator immunity; new rules for summary dismissal; and new rules concerning interim measures (including those issued by emergency arbitrators). The article also considers the areas where the Law Commission has decided to maintain the status quo.
This article was originally published in Revue de l'arbitrage 3-2024. To read the full article in French, download the PDF below.