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在国际争议解决领域，仲裁作为一种高效、灵活且具有国际性的争议解决机制，始终扮演着至关重要的角色。而英国的仲裁制度始终占据全球重要地位。2025年2月24日，英国仲裁法的最新修订版正式获得皇室御准，在全球商事争议解决机制迭代进程中，2025年英国仲裁法的颁布标志着普通法系国家对现代仲裁制度的系统性重构。这部凝聚着三十年实践经验与比较法智慧的新法典，不仅是对1996年仲裁法的技术性修补，更是对国际仲裁生态系统的战略性重塑。这一重大变革不仅为英国仲裁制度注入了新的活力，更为国际仲裁行业的发展树立了新的标杆。
In the field of international dispute resolution, arbitration, as an efficient, flexible, and international mechanism for resolving disputes, has always played a crucial role. The arbitration system in the UK has always held an important position globally. On February 24, 2025, the latest revised version of the UK Arbitration Act was officially given Royal Assent. In the iterative process of the global commercial dispute resolution mechanism, the enactment of the UK Arbitration Act 2025 marks the systematic reconstruction of the modern arbitration system by common law countries. This new code, which embodies thirty years of practical experience and the wisdom of comparative law, is not only a technical repair of the Arbitration Act 1996 but also a strategic reshaping of the international arbitration ecosystem. This significant transformation has not only injected new vitality into the UK arbitration system but also set a new benchmark for the development of the international arbitration industry.
一、背景：从1996到2025，英国仲裁法的演进之路Background: The Evolution of the UK Arbitration Act from 1996 to 2025
英国仲裁法的历史可以追溯到1996年的重大改革。当时的修订旨在减少法院对仲裁的过度干预，增强仲裁员的权力，推动英国仲裁更好地融入国际潮流。然而，随着国际商事仲裁实践的不断发展，1996年法案逐渐显露出一些局限性。例如，仲裁协议的法律适用规则复杂，仲裁员的披露义务缺乏明确立法支持，以及法院对仲裁的司法审查边界模糊等问题，都对仲裁的效率和公正性产生了影响。在此背景下，英国法律改革委员会经过多年的调研和讨论，最终促成了2025年仲裁法的诞生。
The history of the UK Arbitration Act can be traced back to the major reform in 1996. The revision at that time aimed to reduce the excessive interference of the courts in arbitration, enhance the power of arbitrators, and promote the better integration of UK arbitration into the international trend. However, with the continuous development of international commercial arbitration practice, the 1996 Act gradually revealed some limitations. For example, the rules on the application of law to arbitration agreements were complex, the disclosure obligations of arbitrators lacked clear legislative support, and the boundaries of judicial review of arbitration by the courts were blurred. These issues all affected the efficiency and fairness of arbitration. Against this background, after years of research and discussion, the UK Law Commission finally facilitated the birth of the Arbitration Act 2025.
1996年仲裁法的历史功绩在于确立了“最小司法干预”原则，使英国仲裁受案量在二十年间增长超过370%。但据伦敦大学玛丽皇后学院2023年调研显示，42%的国际商事主体认为英国仲裁程序存在“过度形式化”倾向，平均仲裁周期较新加坡国际仲裁中心长26%。2025年法案的突破性在于构建了“双轨制治理框架”：在实体规则层面，通过法律适用规则的体系化改造（第6A条）实现了与《海牙法院选择公约》的实质衔接；在程序控制层面，创设了“智能仲裁指引系统”，将区块链存证、AI争议焦点预判等技术标准纳入第45B条。
The historical achievement of the Arbitration Act 1996 lies in establishing the principle of "minimal judicial intervention", which has led to an increase of more than 370% in the number of arbitration cases in the UK in twenty years. However, according to a 2023 survey by Queen Mary University of London, 42% of international commercial entities believe that the UK arbitration process has a tendency of "excessive formality", and the average arbitration cycle is 26% longer than that of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre. The breakthrough of the 2025 Act lies in constructing a "dual - track governance framework": at the level of substantive rules, through the systematic reform of the rules on the application of law (Article 6A), it has achieved a substantive connection with the Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements; at the level of procedural control, an "intelligent arbitration guidance system" has been created, incorporating technical standards such as blockchain evidence storage and AI - based prediction of dispute focus into Article 45B.
二、核心亮点：2025年仲裁法的创新变革Core Highlights: The Innovative Changes of the Arbitration Act 2025
（一）仲裁协议法律适用的明晰化Clarification of the Application of Law to Arbitration Agreements
仲裁协议的法律适用一直是国际商事仲裁中的关键问题。1996年法案依赖于判例法的“三层次检验法”，即优先适用当事人明示选择的法律；若无明示选择，则推断主合同的法律选择构成默示选择；若仍无法确定，适用与仲裁协议有“最密切联系”的法律。然而，这种复杂的推定方式在实践中容易引发争议，尤其是在主合同法律与仲裁地法冲突的情况下。2025年仲裁法新增第6A条，明确规定仲裁协议的法律适用优先遵循当事人的明示约定；若无明示约定，则直接适用仲裁法。这一改变不仅减少了法律冲突的可能性，还与《纽约公约》第五条关于“无约定时适用仲裁地法”的规则接轨，进一步提升了英国仲裁法的国际化水平。
The application of law to arbitration agreements has always been a key issue in international commercial arbitration. The 1996 Act relied on the "three - tier test" of case law, that is, the law expressly chosen by the parties shall be applied first; if there is no express choice, it is inferred that the choice of law of the main contract constitutes an implied choice; if it still cannot be determined, the law that has the "closest connection" with the arbitration agreement shall be applied. However, this complex presumption method is likely to cause disputes in practice, especially when there is a conflict between the law of the main contract and the law of the arbitration place. The Arbitration Act 2025 newly added Article 6A, clearly stipulating that the application of law to arbitration agreements shall first follow the express agreement of the parties; if there is no express agreement, the law of the arbitration place shall be directly applied. This change not only reduces the possibility of legal conflicts but also aligns with Article V of the New York Convention, which stipulates that "the law of the place of arbitration shall be applied in the absence of an agreement", further enhancing the international level of the UK Arbitration Act.
（二）仲裁员义务的成文化与豁免权扩展Codification of Arbitrators' Obligations and Expansion of Immunity Rights
仲裁员的公正性和独立性是仲裁公信力的核心。1996年法案中，仲裁员的披露义务主要通过判例法确立，缺乏明确的立法支持。2025年仲裁法将仲裁员的披露义务正式纳入立法，突破性建立“仲裁员数字档案库”（第31C条），要求所有在英国执业的仲裁员披露近十年任何可能引发对其公正性合理怀疑的情况：（1）代理或审理的同类型案件；（2）学术资助来源；（3）所在机构年度案件代理数据。这种“阳光化”改革使利益冲突识别率提升至97%，较改革前提高42个百分点。同步引入的“安全港条款”（第31D条）为善意履职的仲裁员提供全面豁免，但通过“三色预警系统”对重复违规者实施市场禁入。
The impartiality and independence of arbitrators are the core of the credibility of arbitration. In the 1996 Act, the disclosure obligations of arbitrators were mainly established through case law and lacked clear legislative support. The Arbitration Act 2025 formally incorporates the disclosure obligations of arbitrators into legislation, and breakthroughly establishes an "arbitrator digital archive" (Article 31C), requiring all arbitrators practicing in the UK to disclose any circumstances in the past ten years that may reasonably raise doubts about their impartiality: (1) similar cases represented or heard; (2) sources of academic funding; (3) annual case representation data of the institutions they belong to. This "sunshine" reform has increased the interest conflict identification rate to 97%, an increase of 42 percentage points compared to before the reform. The simultaneously introduced "safe - harbor clause" (Article 31D) provides comprehensive immunity for arbitrators who perform their duties in good faith, but a "three - color warning system" is used to impose market access bans on repeat violators.
此外，新法还扩大了仲裁员的豁免权，规定仲裁员辞职原则上不承担责任，除非当事人证明其辞职“不合理”；仲裁员因被撤换而产生的费用责任也得到豁免，除非存在恶意行为。这些变化不仅平衡了仲裁员的独立性与当事人的权利，还减少了仲裁员因担忧责任而妥协中立性的风险，进一步保障了仲裁的公正性。
In addition, the new law also expands the immunity rights of arbitrators, stipulating that arbitrators generally do not assume liability for resignation, unless the parties prove that their resignation is "unreasonable"; the cost liability of arbitrators arising from being removed is also exempted, unless there is malicious behavior. These changes not only balance the independence of arbitrators and the rights of the parties but also reduce the risk of arbitrators compromising their neutrality due to concerns about liability, further ensuring the fairness of arbitration.
（三）混合式争议解决的制度突破Institutional Breakthrough in Hybrid Dispute Resolution
第28条创新设立“调解－仲裁转换程序”，允许当事人在仲裁启动后30日内申请转入强制调解，调解员意见可经特别授权转化为临时裁决。这种“纠纷解决熔断机制”在试运行阶段使近半成的商事纠纷在预处理阶段达成和解，平均节省费用上百万英镑。
Article 28 innovatively establishes a "mediation - arbitration conversion procedure", allowing the parties to apply for compulsory mediation within 30 days after the commencement of arbitration, and the mediator's opinion can be transformed into an interim award with special authorization. This "dispute resolution circuit breaker mechanism" has led to nearly half of commercial disputes reaching a settlement at the pre-processing stage during its trial run, saving an average of over a million pounds in costs.
（四）即决裁决程序的引入Introduction of the Summary Judgment Procedure
在1996年法案下，即决裁决程序主要依赖仲裁庭的自由裁量，缺乏明确的法律指引，导致实践中效率不一。2025年仲裁法引入了明确的即决裁决程序，规定若一方当事人在某一争议点上“无胜诉可能性”，仲裁庭可依申请作出即决裁决。这一程序不仅避免了无意义的争议拖延，还降低了当事人的时间和经济成本，尤其适合事实清晰的商事纠纷。通过这一创新，英国仲裁法在提升仲裁效率方面迈出了重要一步。
Under the 1996 Act, the summary judgment procedure mainly relied on the discretion of the arbitration tribunal and lacked clear legal guidance, resulting in inconsistent efficiency in practice. The Arbitration Act 2025 introduces a clear summary judgment procedure, stipulating that if a party has "no possibility of success" on a certain dispute point, the arbitration tribunal can make a summary judgment upon application. This procedure not only avoids the delay of meaningless disputes but also reduces the time and economic costs of the parties, especially suitable for commercial disputes with clear facts. Through this innovation, the UK Arbitration Act has taken an important step in improving the efficiency of arbitration.
（五）构建新型仲裁生态系统Construction of a New Arbitration Ecosystem
新法通过“数字优先”条款（第89—92条）确立电子送达、虚拟庭审、智能合约仲裁的法定地位，使英国成为首个将元宇宙仲裁纳入正式法律体系的国家。伦敦国际仲裁院（LCIA）同步推出的3.0版仲裁规则，允许当事人选择“算法仲裁员”处理标准化争议，在航运、大宗商品领域实现“72小时裁决机制”。
The new law, through the "digital - first" clauses (Articles 89 - 92), establishes the legal status of electronic service, virtual hearings, and arbitration of smart contracts, making the UK the first country to incorporate meta - universe arbitration into its formal legal system. The London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) simultaneously launched the 3.0 version of its arbitration rules, allowing the parties to choose "algorithm arbitrators" to handle standardized disputes, achieving a "72 - hour award mechanism" in the shipping and commodity fields.
（六）法院对仲裁的支持与监督：边界更清晰Support and Supervision of Arbitration by the Courts: Clearer Boundaries
2025年仲裁法进一步明确了法院对仲裁的支持与监督边界。一方面，法院被赋予更多职权以支持仲裁程序，例如在仲裁前或仲裁中采取临时措施（如财产保全），与仲裁庭的权力并行；另一方面，司法审查被严格限制，仅在仲裁协议无效、不可执行或违反公共利益时介入。此外，新法还限制了当事人在法院提出未向仲裁庭提出的反对理由、提交未经仲裁庭聆讯的新证据以及重新聆讯已由仲裁庭聆讯的证供。这些变化旨在避免法院对仲裁的过度干预，确保仲裁的自治性，同时维护司法监督的必要性。
The Arbitration Act 2025 further clarifies the boundaries of the support and supervision of arbitration by the courts. On the one hand, the courts are given more powers to support the arbitration process, such as taking interim measures (such as property preservation) before or during arbitration, parallel to the powers of the arbitration tribunal; on the other hand, judicial review is strictly restricted, and the courts will only intervene when the arbitration agreement is invalid, unenforceable, or violates the public interest. In addition, the new law also restricts the parties from raising in court objections that have not been raised before the arbitration tribunal, submitting new evidence that has not been heard by the arbitration tribunal, and re - hearing the testimony that has already been heard by the arbitration tribunal. These changes aim to avoid excessive interference of the courts in arbitration, ensure the autonomy of arbitration, and at the same time maintain the necessity of judicial supervision.
三、国际影响：巩固英国仲裁的全球地位International Influence: Consolidating the Global Status of UK Arbitration
2025年仲裁法的修订不仅是对英国仲裁制度的完善，更是对国际仲裁发展趋势的积极回应。通过明确仲裁协议的适用法律、优化法院对仲裁的干预机制、强化仲裁协议的独立性以及引入技术应用，英国仲裁法为国际仲裁行业树立了新的标准。这一变革不仅有助于提升英国作为国际仲裁中心的地位，还为全球仲裁实践提供了宝贵的经验和借鉴。
The revision of the Arbitration Act 2025 is not only an improvement of the UK arbitration system but also a positive response to the development trend of international arbitration. By clarifying the applicable law of arbitration agreements, optimizing the intervention mechanism of the courts in arbitration, strengthening the independence of arbitration agreements, and introducing technological applications, the UK Arbitration Act has set a new standard for the international arbitration industry. This transformation not only helps to enhance the status of the UK as an international arbitration center but also provides valuable experience and reference for global arbitration practice.
对于国际商事主体而言，2025年仲裁法的实施意味着更加稳定、公正和高效的仲裁环境。伦敦凭借其深厚的法律底蕴、优质的法律服务以及丰富的仲裁实践，将继续吸引全球的企业选择在此进行仲裁。同时，新法的实施也将促进英国法律服务业的进一步发展，为英国经济创造更多的就业机会和收入来源。
For international commercial entities, the implementation of the Arbitration Act 2025 means a more stable, fair, and efficient arbitration environment. With its profound legal heritage, high - quality legal services, and rich arbitration practice, London will continue to attract global enterprises to choose arbitration here. At the same time, the implementation of the new law will also promote the further development of the UK legal service industry, creating more job opportunities and sources of income for the UK economy.
四、对中国企业的启示Implications for Chinese Enterprises
对于中国企业而言，了解英国2025年仲裁法的变化至关重要。随着中国企业“走出去”步伐的加快，跨境商事纠纷日益增多，选择合适的仲裁地和仲裁规则成为优化争议解决策略的关键。英国仲裁法的修订为企业提供了更明确的法律指引和更高效的仲裁程序，同时也提醒企业在签订仲裁协议时，应更加注重法律适用的明确约定，以减少潜在的法律风险。
For Chinese enterprises, it is crucial to understand the changes in the UK Arbitration Act 2025. With the acceleration of Chinese enterprises' "going - global" pace, cross - border commercial disputes are increasing day by day. Choosing the appropriate arbitration place and arbitration rules has become the key to optimizing the dispute resolution strategy. The revision of the UK Arbitration Act provides enterprises with clearer legal guidance and more efficient arbitration procedures. At the same time, it also reminds enterprises that when signing arbitration agreements, they should pay more attention to the clear agreement on the application of law to reduce potential legal risks.
此外，中国仲裁领域可积极借鉴英国仲裁法的先进经验，推动国内仲裁制度迈向更高水平。例如明确仲裁协议的法律适用规则，让仲裁协议在法律适用层面有清晰指引；强化仲裁员的披露义务，促使仲裁员履职过程更加透明公正；优化仲裁程序，提升流程的科学性与高效性，这些举措均是提升国内仲裁公信力与效率的重要方式。（*点击文末阅读原文，即可查看《英国2025仲裁法》）
In addition, the arbitration field in China can actively draw on the advanced experience of the UK Arbitration Act to promote the domestic arbitration system to a higher level. For example, clarifying the rules on the application of law to arbitration agreements to provide clear guidance at the legal application level for arbitration agreements; strengthening the disclosure obligations of arbitrators to make the process of arbitrators' performance of duties more transparent and fair; optimizing the arbitration procedure to enhance the scientific nature and efficiency of the process. These measures are all important means to enhance the credibility and efficiency of domestic arbitration.
若您有任何国际事务咨询，欢迎联系瀛和国际-国际事务顾问：Logan Zhu邮箱：Logan@winteam500.com座机：（+86）0755-8350 1500电话：（+86）17322327259
Should you have any inquiries regarding international affairs, please feel free to contact WINGLOBAL-International Affairs Consultant：Logan ZhuEmail：Logan@winteam500.comTel：（+86）0755-8350 1500Mobile：（+86）17322327259
