On 7 November 2023, His Majesty King Charles III delivered his first King’s Speech during the State Opening of Parliament. During his speech, His Majesty outlined the UK Government’s legislative priorities over the next parliamentary session. Within the 21 bills announced during the gilded ceremony was the Arbitration Bill.

According to the Government: “The Arbitration Bill modernises the law on arbitration as recommended by the Law Commission of England and Wales. […] These new measures will bolster England, Wales, and Northern Ireland’s world leading domestic and international arbitration sector with benefits for individuals and businesses seeking to resolve disputes, as well as boosting economic growth.”

The Arbitration Bill will implement the suggested changes by the Law Commission in their report, released earlier this year. As we wrote previously, the report suggested: changes to arbitrator independence and disclosure, the introduction of a new summary procedure, new rules around the governing law of the arbitration agreement, and jurisdiction of the English courts (among other minor changes). This bill should be relatively uncontroversial, so it will likely sail through Parliament at pace.

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We will update on the bill once a draft is published and along its legislative journey. Further analysis on our thoughts regarding the Law Commission’s report can be found in our article for the Global Legal Post.