Evolution of Arbitration law in United Kingdom: A Doctrinal Analysis

Abstract

The United Kingdom has been on the basis of establishing modern arbitration law either at the local or international levels. The paper will conduct a doctrinal study of the development of the law of arbitration in the UK by following the process of development of the law of arbitration since its earliest roots in common law down to the most recent legislative developments leading to the current full-blown Arbitration Act of 1996. In the past arbitration in England and Wales was held with judicial cynicism and rigid approach. Nonetheless, throughout the twentieth century, there was a shift in the paradigm as lawmakers increasingly incorporated arbitration into the nomenclature of possible alternatives to state court litigation. Culmination of these reforms came in the form of the Arbitration Act 1996 that gave code to such concepts as party and procedural flexibility, limited court interventions, and party autonomy.

This paper will analyze the doctrinal interpretation of statutory words and case law interpretation to analyze how UK courts have interpreted and applied the 1996 Act in various cases especially the landmark cases like Fiona Trust Holding Corp v Privalov, Dallah Real Estate and Tourism Holding Co v Ministry of Religious Affairs of Pakistan and Halliburton Co v Chubb Bermuda Insurance Ltd. Such determinations illustrate an ageing jurisprudence which upholds the expediency and conclusiveness of arbitration and equalizing due process and fairness. The paper is also used to assess the arbitration regime of the UK against international best norms, including the New York Convention 1958, with the understanding that even though the UK is yet to embrace the UNCITRAL Model Law, it still maintains the perspective of the global best during its actual practice.

As shown in recent consultations by the Law Commission (2021-2023), a reform and modernization agenda remain committed in the field of arbitrator independence, confidentiality and emergency relief. This paper contains the conclusion that the UK arbitration law, whose development is premised upon robust tradition of doctrine, has developed into a dynamic legal framework which represents the both common law tradition of the country and the presence of this country within the context of globalized commercial system.