Brexit is unlikely to negatively impact, and could have a positive effect on, the field of arbitration, according to solicitors at Penningtons Manches.
While there is obviously much uncertainty at this point, the solicitors—Clare Arthurs, knowledge lawyer, Phillip D’Costa, partner, and Nicole Finlayson, knowledge lawyer—highlight the positive and the potential, in this week’s NLJ.
Current advantages are unlikely to be affected, such as the English courts’ reputation for upholding the independence of the arbitral process, the ‘teeth’ of the Arbitration Act 1996, the expertise of the English judiciary, our common law, and our concentration of global law firms, pool of experts and highly talented professionals.
Possible benefits include that the legal framework supporting arbitration may be strengthened by Brexit, the potential return of EU anti-suit injunctions (hitherto banned by the EU) giving London ‘a distinctly competitive edge’, and the possibility that enforcement of arbitration will be ‘a safer bet’ post-Brexit than enforcement of court judgments of other EU member states. (See `The long farewell: leaving the EU (Pt 2).)
