ENGLAND & WALES Law and Practice Contributed by: James Stacey, Peter Wickham, Samantha Holland and William Humphries, Slaughter and May
2. Governing Legislation 2.1 Governing Law
by the Law Commission, and aim to ensure that Eng - lish arbitration law remains fit for purpose and that London remains a leading destination for international arbitration. Following its consultation, the Law Com - mission concluded that the existing legislation works well and that “root and branch reform is not needed or wanted”. As such, the 2025 Act reforms are limited to a few important amendments summarised elsewhere in this Practice Guide. The changes apply to all arbitration agreements when - ever made, but not to arbitrations commenced before the reforms entered into force on 1 August 2025 nor to court proceedings in relation to such arbitrations (Section 17 (4) of the 2025 Act). To be enforceable, an arbitration agreement must be made in accordance with general English contract law principles, including, for example, that the agreement to arbitrate is sufficiently certain. Part 1 of the 1996 Act only applies where the arbi - tration agreement is in writing (Section 5). For these purposes, “in writing” is broadly defined and can include, for example, an arbitration agreement being “evidenced in writing”. Oral arbitration agreements are valid under English common law but are rare in the commercial context. 3. The Arbitration Agreement 3.1 Enforceability The 1996 Act does not impose any strict requirements on the content of an arbitration agreement – only that the parties must agree “to submit to arbitration pre - sent or future disputes (whether they are contractual or not)” (Section 6 (1)). 3.2 Arbitrability The 1996 Act does not define the meaning of arbitra - bility but, consistent with the New York Convention, it recognises the right of the court to refuse the recog - nition or enforcement of an award where the matter is not capable of settlement by arbitration (Section 103 (3)).
International arbitration in England and Wales is pri - marily regulated by the Arbitration Act 1996 (the “1996 Act”), which applies to all domestic and international arbitrations where the seat of the arbitration is Eng - land and Wales or Northern Ireland (unless otherwise stated, references to “Sections” are to the 1996 Act). Certain provisions in the 1996 Act – such as stays of legal proceedings, enforcement of awards and the English courts’ powers exercisable in support of arbi - tration – apply even if the seat of arbitration is outside England and Wales or Northern Ireland, or if no seat has been designated or determined. In addition, cer - tain areas of arbitration law (eg, confidentiality in arbi - tration) are not codified in legislation and are instead found in case law. The 1996 Act is strongly influenced by the UNCITRAL Model Law, but England has not adopted the Model Law wholesale. Examples of divergences between them include the following: • by default, the 1996 Act specifies that the tribunal shall comprise a sole arbitrator (Section 15 (3)), whereas the Model Law specifies three arbitrators (Article 10 (1)); • absent agreement, the Model Law contains rules for the exchange of pleadings (Article 23), whereas the 1996 Act does not; • the Model Law does not include a mechanism for summary enforcement of domestic awards, whereas the 1996 Act does (Section 66); and • the 1996 Act applies to all forms of arbitration, whereas the Model Law applies only to interna - tional commercial arbitration. The 1996 Act has been amended by the Arbitration Act 2025 (the “2025 Act”) (see 2.2 Changes to Nation- al Law ). 2.2 Changes to National Law The 2025 Act received royal assent in February 2025 and its substantive provisions came into force on 1 August 2025. The 2025 Act amends the 1996 Act by making changes that largely reflect recommendations
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