Publication
Distress signals: Cooperation agreements or mergers to the rescue in times of crisis?
The current volatile and unpredictable economic climate creates challenges for businesses.
United Kingdom | Publication | February 2025
On 24 February 2025, the Arbitration Act 2025 (the 2025 Act) received Royal Assent and will come into force on a date to be confirmed. The 2025 Act will insert a number of amendments into the Arbitration Act 1996 with the aim of modernising the Arbitration Act 1996 in order to enhance the status of England and Wales as a leading international forum for dispute resolution. The reforms follow modernisation efforts by other popular arbitration forums, including Hong Kong and Singapore, and aim to ensure London’s competitiveness as a seat for international arbitrations.
This article summarises the key reforms and their practical implications for contract drafting and arbitral procedure.
The reforms in the 2025 Act will come into force through regulations on a day to be appointed by the Secretary of State.
The 2025 Act is the product of recommendations made by the Law Commission designed to promote England and Wales’s status as a world leading destination for commercial arbitration. The key reforms include:1
As stated in the Government’s press release here the new law is intended to re-enforce England and Wales’s status as the “global destination of choice for the legal sector”. The new law “makes arbitration fairer and more efficient by simplifying procedures to reduce costs and protecting arbitrators from unreasonable lawsuits. It also strengthens the courts’ powers to support emergency arbitration so time-sensitive decisions can be made more easily.” 3
The changes introduced by the 2025 Act are relatively limited “mindful of the consensus that the [Arbitration Act 1996] works well, and that root and branch reform is not needed or wanted”4. However, there are some important practical implications which include:
Publication
The current volatile and unpredictable economic climate creates challenges for businesses.
Publication
Recent tariffs and other trade measures have transformed the international trade landscape, impacting almost every sector, region and business worldwide.
Publication
In mid-March 2025, Cognia Law and Norton Rose Fulbright’s Legal Operations Consulting team co-hosted a second roundtable event that brought together senior leaders, including GCs, COO and head of legal operations, from across the legal industry to discuss how to drive meaningful change within the legal ecosystem.
Subscribe and stay up to date with the latest legal news, information and events . . .
© Norton Rose Fulbright LLP 2025