header-logo header-logo

The Arbitration Act 1996: a reflection at 25 years

29 April 2022 / Valya Georgieva , Ravi Aswani
Issue: 7976 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Arbitration
printer mail-detail
79660
Ravi Aswani & Valya Georgieva consider a quarter-century of the Arbitration Act 1996: where might it go from here?
  • The current arbitration landscape in England and Wales.
  • The Law Commission review of the Arbitration Act 1996 and areas for possible reforms.
  • Updates to the Commercial Court Guide aimed at deterring unmeritorious challenges to arbitral awards.

2022 marks 25 years since the commencement of the Arbitration Act 1996 (AA 1996) on 31 January 1997. The consensus is that this has been a very successful piece of legislation, consolidating key aspects of the then more fragmented legislation and case law governing arbitration in England and Wales, drawing inspiration from the UNCITRAL Model Law for certain provisions, and taking into account a range of other factors and interests in respect of other provisions.

The pace of legislative reform in a jurisdiction like England and Wales is relatively slow. After several years of rumours, the Law Commission on 30 November 2021 confirmed that it would indeed conduct

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Mourant—Stephen Alexander

Mourant—Stephen Alexander

Jersey litigation lead appointed to global STEP Council

mfg Solicitors—nine trainees

mfg Solicitors—nine trainees

Firm invests in future talent with new training cohort

360 Law Group—Anthony Gahan

360 Law Group—Anthony Gahan

Investment banking veteran appointed as chairman to drive global growth

NEWS
Artificial intelligence may be revolutionising the law, but its misuse could wreck cases and careers, warns Clare Arthurs of Penningtons Manches Cooper in this week's NLJ
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve reports on Haynes v Thomson, the first judicial application of the Supreme Court’s For Women Scotland ruling in a discrimination claim, in this week's NLJ
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
back-to-top-scroll