Well-timed guidance

A book seeking to cover commercial arbitration both in England and Wales and internationally is a Sisyphean endeavour. Timing is a great strength of this excellent second edition. In England and Wales, the legislative framework for arbitration has changed with the Arbitration Act 2025. In practice, new issues, such as those in respect of litigation funding, have arisen. 

This work is essential for those whose practice focuses on England and Wales, albeit often involving international work. A chapter devoted to appeals on a point of law considers the position under section 96 of the Arbitration Act 1996. Details here are extremely helpful in conveying how courts actually approach appeals. A practitioner (whether in transactional or dispute resolution practice) gains from reference to a 2025 case in which the court refused leave to appeal, on the basis that the court considered the arbitral tribunal’s decision wrong, but not ‘obviously wrong’. 

The use of artificial intelligence is also addressed, including whether an AI tool could act as arbitrator. Given how much the law might change in the UK and abroad between editions, it is useful that the work draws attention to guidance across institutions and jurisdictions worldwide.

An area which might have been developed further is that of applicable professional or regulatory rules. The decision in Federal Republic of Nigeria v Process & Industrial Developments Ltd [2023] EWHC 2638 (Comm) is addressed, but further consideration of the issues that decision raised would have been useful. How do regulators respond to such a case? How should an arbitral tribunal respond if the facts in play in that case are revealed during arbitral proceedings? 

These are perhaps points which a textbook cannot be expected to cover in the greatest detail. The work is an excellent resource for practitioners.

John Denis-Smith, FCIArb, is a barrister at 39 Essex Chambers, London