Originally from The Law and Practice of International Arbitration: Essays in Honor of John Fellas – Preview Page

1. INTRODUCTION 

The Arbitration Act 2025 (“2025 Act”) was a generational event in English arbitral legislative history, the last statute being almost 30 years previously in 1996 (“1996 Act”). It was not a radical re-writing of English arbitration as its predecessor had been, but an opportunity to fix a few issues which had arisen and had put English arbitration out of sync with many other prominent national arbitration statutes. The question is whether it did this and whether it went far enough. For instance, was the retention of Section 69 of the 1996 Act, the right of an appeal on issues of law with an opt out correct or was an opportunity to change the position missed?  

The 2025 Act was the result of a review of and recommendations relating to the 1996 Act by the Law Commission,2 following a lengthy consultation process. 

This essay addresses in detail four key changes made by the 2025 Act, relating to the following: (i) an arbitrator’s duty of disclosure; (ii) the power to make summary awards, (iii) the law of the arbitration agreement; and (iv) challenging jurisdiction under Section 67 of the 1996 Act and briefly refers to a few other reforms. None of the below provisions are in force at the time of writing. 

The extent of its impact is important as London becomes an increasingly popular centre for international arbitration.