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08 August 2025 / Stephen Gold
Issue: 8128 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , CPR , Arbitration , Civil way
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Civil way: 8 August 2025

New arbitration law in; October’s CPR treats; needs of a Sch 1 mum; CPR 187th update; covert recordings; good news for shy directors.

STATUTORY LOOK-IN FOR ARBS

The Arbitration Act 2025 was brought fully into force on 1 August 2025 by SI 2025/905 and applies to arbitration agreements whenever made, but not to arbitration proceedings and some arbitration-related court proceedings commenced before that date. It plays around with the Arbitration Act 1996 and, thanks to artificial intelligence, some more play will inevitably be required in due course. Stronger immunity for arbitrators. Unless otherwise agreed, the applicable law is to be the law of the seat of the arbitration. And here’s a skate round just some of the more interesting other measures:

‘How do we get rid of them?’ The arbitrator’s impartiality is handy, and so they are now subjected to a duty of disclosure when approached about a possible appointment and post appointment. That disclosure—to the person making the approach or the parties to proceedings—is

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Firm awards training contracts to paralegals through internal programme

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Private client disputes specialist joins commercial litigation team

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Cumbria firm appoints new head of residential property

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
Family law must shift from conflict-driven litigation to child-centred problem-solving, according to a major new report. Writing in NLJ this week, Caroline Bowden of Anthony Gold outlines findings showing overwhelming support for reform, with 92% agreeing lawyers owe duties to children as well as clients
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