Law reform: the institutional perspective

Abstract

Abstract The Law Commission was tasked with reviewing the Arbitration Act 1996, to determine whether any amendments to the Act were needed to ensure that the Act remains fit for purpose and continues to promote England and Wales as a leading destination for commercial arbitration. As part of that process, the Law Commission engaged with many different stakeholders across the arbitration community. The London Court of International Arbitration was one of those stakeholders. Accordingly, this article seeks to offer readers an insight into the perspective of an arbitral institution on the topic of reform of the Act. While this article does not address comprehensively all of the Law Commission’s proposals, it provides an insight into the London Court of Arbitration (LCIA)’s responses to the Law Commission’s consultation and the competing considerations that are at play with respect to the duty of confidentiality, the duties of impartiality, independence and disclosure, discrimination, section 67 of the Act, and the law applicable to the arbitration agreement.