ENGLISH ARBITRATION BILL RE-INTRODUCED IN KING'S SPEECH

Following the general election which took place on 4 July 2024, today's King's Speech at the State Opening of Parliament has re-introduced the Arbitration Bill (the Bill) to Parliament's legislative agenda. As stated in the briefing notes attached to the King's Speech, the Bill will support more efficient dispute resolution, attract international business and promote UK economic growth and the intention is to enact the Law Commission's recommendations.

As we noted in our previous post here, the Arbitration Bill, which was in its early legislative stages, was left out of the "wash-up period" (where some bills are passed on an accelerated basis immediately after a General Election has been called) and its fate left uncertain.

The decision to re-introduce the Bill follows calls for the new government to continue the Law Commission's efforts to modernise the English Arbitration Act and to bolster the international arbitration sector.

Craig Tevendale, Head of International Arbitration (London), has commented:  

"The re-introduction of the Arbitration Bill to the legislative agenda by the new government is a welcome development. The Bill, which sets out a number of proposals, is widely supported by the arbitration community for re-affirming London's status as the pre-eminent centre for international arbitration. In particular, it is noteworthy that the government has clarified that the new default rule regarding the law applicable to arbitration agreements will not apply to investor-state agreements."

For more information on the contents of the Bill, please see our previous posts here and here.

Update: The updated Bill, introduced to Parliament on 18 July 2024, can be found here. The new carve-out for arbitration agreements contianed in treaties or foreign legislation can be found in Clause 6A(3)-(4).