Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

the arbitration agreement definition

What does the arbitration agreement mean? In practice, the arbitration agreement is the parties’ contractual commitment—often an arbitration clause in a wider contract, or a stand‑alone submission agreement—to resolve defined present or future disputes by arbitration instead of national courts. It typically identifies the scope of disputes, the seat, arbitral rules or ad hoc procedure, the number/appointment of arbitrators and, where relevant, language and the governing law of the arbitration agreement, and is usually recorded in writing. The term is defined in legislation across the UK and Ireland (Arbitration Act 1996 for England & Wales and Northern Ireland; Arbitration (Scotland) Act 2010; and, in...

Arbitration Act 2025 reforms to the law governing arbitration agreements: s 6A AA 1996, seat-based default, separability, anti-suit relief and transitional issues (England and Wales)

Published by a LexisNexis Arbitration expert

Practice notes

This Practice Note explores what is meant by the law governing an Arbitration agreement and the manner in which that law is identified under the law of England and Wales (using England and English as convenient shorthand in this context). It further addresses the newly passed Arbitration Act 2025 and the changes it has introduced to the English law rules that govern deciding which law applies to arbitration agreements.

The law of the arbitration agreement

Under the Arbitration Act 1996 (AA 1996), an arbitration agreement—where the seat is in England and Wales or Northern Ireland—is an agreement to refer existing or future Disputes, contractual or otherwise, to arbitration (AA 1996, s 6). Most often, this is set out as a clause in the principal contract, though it may equally be recorded in a separate agreement, either when the contract is made or once a dispute has emerged. Nevertheless, even when embedded in the main contract, it is treated, for particular legal purposes, as an autonomous agreement by virtue of separability (AA 1996, s 7)...

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John-Patrick Asimakis

Essex Court Chambers

John-Patrick Asimakis is a barrister at Essex Court Chambers with a broad commercial practice and a particular interest in international commercial arbitration. Prior to coming to the Bar, John-Patrick worked at an international law firm, qualified as a solicitor in Australia, served as a Judicial Assistant at the New South Wales Court of Appeal and was a Stipendiary Lecturer in Law at Brasenose College, University of Oxford. He is an editor of Zuckerman on Civil Procedure and the Corporation Law Bulletin. His academic writing has been published on various areas of the law. John-Patrick has a BCL with Distinction from the University of Oxford and a BA/LLB with First Class Honours from the University of Sydney. ...

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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