Arbitration Agreement Template (England and Wales)
Updated on 8 August 2026
An arbitration agreement sends disputes to a private tribunal instead of the courts. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland it operates inside the framework of the Arbitration Act 1996 — and that framework changed on 1 August 2025, when the Arbitration Act 2025 brought a set of amendments into force. Any template written before that date is describing the previous law on at least one point that matters in every single agreement.
This template is drafted for the current position. It fixes the seat, applies the new default rule on which law governs the arbitration agreement itself, chooses institutional or ad hoc rules with a working appointment mechanism, and handles costs, confidentiality and the award consistently. It replaces a widely copied free template that names a single arbitrator in a blank with nobody to appoint one if the parties disagree, never identifies a seat at all, contradicts itself on costs, and tells the parties they may still go to court over "Constitutional or civil rights" — a sentence lifted from a US context that has no place in an English agreement.
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Arbitration Agreement
This Arbitration Agreement is made on between of and of (each a Party and together the Parties).
Each Party enters into this Agreement in the course of its business and not as a consumer, and each has had the opportunity to take independent legal advice on it.
1. Disputes Covered
Any dispute, claim or difference arising out of or in connection with the dated , including any question about its existence, validity, breach or termination, shall be referred to and finally resolved by arbitration under this Agreement.
2. Seat and Governing Law
The seat, or legal place, of the arbitration is . The arbitration law of the seat governs the arbitral proceedings and the courts of the seat have supervisory jurisdiction. The law governing the underlying contract is . The seat is unaffected by where any hearing is physically held.
The Parties expressly agree that this Arbitration Agreement is governed by the law of the seat. This confirms the default position under the Arbitration Act 1996 as amended, under which an arbitration agreement is governed by the law of the seat where the parties have not expressly agreed otherwise.
3. Rules and Appointment of the Tribunal
The arbitration shall be conducted under the LCIA Arbitration Rules in force at the date the arbitration is commenced, which are incorporated by reference into this Agreement, and the LCIA Court shall appoint the tribunal in accordance with those Rules where the Parties do not agree.
The tribunal shall consist of one arbitrator, agreed by the Parties or, failing agreement, appointed as set out above.
Any arbitrator shall have the following qualification or experience: . Every arbitrator shall be and remain impartial and independent, shall disclose before accepting appointment any circumstance likely to give rise to justifiable doubts as to their impartiality or independence, and shall continue to disclose any such circumstance arising afterwards.
4. Language, Venue and Procedure
The language of the arbitration is . Hearings may be held at or by video conference as the tribunal directs after consulting the Parties. The tribunal shall adopt procedures suitable to the circumstances of the case and shall set a timetable proportionate to the amount in dispute and the complexity of the issues, avoiding unnecessary delay and expense.
5. Court Support and Interim Relief
Either Party may apply to the tribunal for interim or conservatory measures, and may apply to the court for urgent interim relief before the tribunal is constituted or for support in taking evidence. Doing so is not a breach of this Agreement or a waiver of the agreement to arbitrate.
Nothing in this Agreement prevents either Party from applying to a court of competent jurisdiction for an injunction or other equitable relief to restrain the actual or threatened infringement, misuse or disclosure of intellectual property or confidential information.
6. Costs
The Parties shall advance the tribunal's fees and expenses and any institutional charges in equal shares. In its award the tribunal may allocate those costs, and each Party's recoverable legal and expert costs, between the Parties as it considers appropriate having regard to the outcome and the conduct of the arbitration.
7. Confidentiality
The existence of the arbitration, all submissions and evidence in it, and the award are confidential. A Party may nonetheless disclose them to its professional advisers, auditors and insurers on a confidential basis, so far as necessary to enforce or challenge the award or to protect a legal right, and where required by law, by a court, or by a regulator or listing authority. This obligation survives the conclusion of the arbitration.
8. The Award
The award shall be in writing, shall state the reasons on which it is based, and is final and binding on the Parties. The Parties agree that judgment on the award may be entered and enforced in any court of competent jurisdiction, and that where enforcement is sought outside the United Kingdom the award is intended to be enforceable under the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards.
9. General
This Agreement survives termination, expiry or rescission of the underlying contract. If any provision is held unenforceable, the remainder continues in effect. Notices shall be in writing to for the first Party and for the second Party. This Agreement may be executed in counterparts and by electronic signature.
First party
Date:
Second party
Date:
What changed on 1 August 2025
The Arbitration Act 2025 amends the Arbitration Act 1996 rather than replacing it, and its substantive provisions came into force on 1 August 2025 through commencement regulations. The amendments apply to arbitrations and related court proceedings commenced on or after that date, whatever the date of the arbitration agreement itself — so an old clause in an old contract is now read against the new rules.
The change that touches every arbitration agreement is the new default on governing law. A new provision inserted into the Arbitration Act 1996 provides that the arbitration agreement is governed by the law the parties expressly agree applies to it and, failing that, by the law of the seat. That reverses the position established by the Supreme Court in Enka v Chubb, under which the law of the main contract would often carry across to the arbitration agreement by implication.
The practical consequence is simple and worth acting on: choosing an English seat now points the arbitration agreement at English law by default, and if you want a different law to govern the arbitration agreement you have to say so expressly. This template asks the question directly rather than leaving it to be worked out later.
Seat, rules and getting a tribunal appointed
The seat is the legal home of the arbitration. It determines which arbitration law governs the process, which courts supervise it, and — now — the default law of the arbitration agreement itself. It is separate from the hearing venue, and the template keeps them apart so hearings can be held anywhere or online without disturbing the legal position.
On rules, the choice is between an institution — the LCIA and the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators are the usual English options, alongside trade bodies in shipping, construction and commodities — and ad hoc arbitration, typically under the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules. Institutional rules bring an administrator who will appoint an arbitrator when the parties cannot agree. Ad hoc arbitration does not, so the agreement itself has to name an appointing authority.
The source template fails precisely here. It names one arbitrator in a blank, with no institution and no appointing authority, so the first disagreement over a name stops the process. English law does provide a backstop — the court has power to make an appointment where the agreed procedure fails — but relying on a court application to constitute your tribunal is an expensive way to start a private dispute resolution process. Name the authority in the agreement instead.
Consumers, employees and the limits of the clause
An English arbitration agreement is not unlimited in reach, and a template that implies otherwise is misleading. The clearest limit is consumer protection: an arbitration clause imposed on a consumer is exposed to the unfair terms regime, and the Arbitration Act 1996 itself contains provisions restricting the application of arbitration agreements to consumer claims below a level set by order. This template is written for business-to-business use and says so, rather than pretending a consumer-facing arbitration clause is a routine drafting choice.
Employment is the other area to approach carefully. Statutory employment claims in Great Britain go to the employment tribunal, and the routes for settling or compromising them are prescribed. An arbitration agreement in a contract of employment does not simply divert those claims into private arbitration.
What this template does instead is give the carve-outs that commercial parties actually use: preserving the right to apply to the court for urgent interim relief to protect intellectual property or confidential information, and preserving the small claims track for low-value disputes if that is what the parties want. Both are optional, because each changes the bargain.
Costs, confidentiality and enforcing the award
Costs in English arbitration come in two layers — the tribunal's and institution's fees, and each side's own legal costs — and the tribunal has power to allocate them. The template makes you choose one rule: either both layers are split evenly whatever happens, or the tribunal may allocate them in the award. The source template does both at once, letting the arbitrator award costs to the winner in one clause and fixing the arbitrator's own fee as shared equally "regardless of who was right" in the next.
Confidentiality is a strength of English arbitration, and it works because it is drafted with exceptions rather than as an absolute. This template protects the existence of the arbitration, the submissions and the award, while permitting disclosure to professional advisers, auditors and insurers, for enforcing or challenging the award, and where law or a regulator requires it. A clause that then allows the award to be handed to unspecified third parties, as the source does, protects nobody.
The award is final and binding, and the template says so, along with a reasoned award and the parties' agreement that judgment may be enforced in any court of competent jurisdiction. It deliberately avoids imposing a fixed completion deadline on the tribunal: a deadline written into the agreement and then missed becomes an argument about the tribunal's authority. Where a party or its assets sit abroad, the seat also determines the award's nationality for enforcement under the New York Convention.
Clause-by-clause guide
- Scope of disputes
- Covers disputes arising out of or in connection with the contract, including questions about its existence, validity and termination, so the scope is not itself the first thing argued about.
- Seat of arbitration
- Fixes the legal place — England and Wales, or another seat — which sets the supervisory court, the procedural law and now the default law of the arbitration agreement.
- Law of the arbitration agreement
- An express choice, because under the Arbitration Act 1996 as amended the seat's law applies by default unless the parties expressly agree otherwise.
- Rules and appointing authority
- Institutional rules with a built-in appointment route, or ad hoc arbitration with a named appointing authority. Without one, a single-arbitrator clause deadlocks.
- Number and qualification of arbitrators
- One or three, with any required expertise, and the fallback where a party fails to appoint or the two appointees cannot agree a chair.
- Impartiality and disclosure
- A continuing duty to disclose circumstances that might reasonably give rise to justifiable doubts about impartiality, with challenges routed to the institution or the court.
- Interim relief and court support
- Preserves applications to the court for urgent protective relief and for support in taking evidence, without that being a waiver of the agreement to arbitrate.
- Costs
- One rule: split evenly, or allocated by the tribunal in the award. Not both, as the source template attempts.
- Confidentiality
- Protects the proceedings and the award, with workable exceptions for advisers, insurers, enforcement and legal or regulatory obligation.
- The award and enforcement
- Written, reasoned, final and binding, enforceable in court, and travelling internationally under the New York Convention according to the seat.
England and Wales checklist
Points to confirm before signing. Northern Ireland follows the same Act; Scotland has its own arbitration legislation.
Draft against the Arbitration Act 1996 as amended in 2025
The Arbitration Act 2025 amends the 1996 Act and its substantive provisions came into force on 1 August 2025, applying to arbitrations and related court proceedings commenced on or after that date whatever the date of the arbitration agreement.
LCIA - the English Arbitration Act 2025Decide the law of the arbitration agreement expressly
Under the amended Act the arbitration agreement is governed by the law the parties expressly agree, and failing that by the law of the seat — reversing the approach in Enka v Chubb, under which the main contract's law often carried across.
Norton Rose Fulbright - the new Arbitration Act 2025Name the seat, not just a hearing venue
The seat determines the supervisory court, the procedural law and now the default law of the arbitration agreement. Stating only where hearings will be held leaves all three unresolved.
Give the agreement a working appointment route
Institutional rules supply an appointing body. For ad hoc arbitration, name an appointing authority in the agreement so a disagreement over a single arbitrator does not require a court application to break the deadlock.
Do not use this template for consumers
Arbitration clauses imposed on consumers face the unfair terms regime, and the Arbitration Act 1996 restricts the application of arbitration agreements to consumer claims below a level set by order. Take advice before including one in a consumer contract.
Do not use it to divert statutory employment claims
Statutory employment claims are for the employment tribunal, and the ways of settling or compromising them are prescribed. An arbitration clause in a contract of employment does not simply move them into private arbitration.
Keep enforcement in mind when choosing the seat
Where a counterparty or its assets are outside the United Kingdom, the award travels under the New York Convention and the seat fixes its nationality for that purpose.
New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards
How to complete this arbitration agreement
- Identify the parties and the contract. Name both parties and the contract the arbitration agreement attaches to, or describe the dispute if you are signing after one has arisen.
- Fix the seat and the governing law. Choose the seat, then make an express choice of the law governing the arbitration agreement — the seat's law now applies by default if you do not.
- Choose rules and the appointment route. Select institutional rules or ad hoc arbitration with a named appointing authority, and set one or three arbitrators.
- Set carve-outs and the cost rule. Decide on interim relief and small-claims carve-outs, and choose whether costs are split or allocated by the tribunal.
- Review and sign. Check the language, hearing arrangements and notice addresses, then download the DOCX or PDF and keep it with the underlying contract.
Frequently asked questions
What did the Arbitration Act 2025 actually change?
It amends the Arbitration Act 1996 rather than replacing it, with substantive provisions in force from 1 August 2025 and applying to arbitrations commenced on or after that date. The change that affects every clause is the new default that the arbitration agreement is governed by the law of the seat unless the parties expressly agree otherwise.
Does the change mean my existing arbitration clause is out of date?
Not invalid, but read differently. Because the amendments apply to arbitrations commenced on or after 1 August 2025 whatever the date of the agreement, an old clause that relied on the law of the main contract carrying across to the arbitration agreement may now point at the seat's law instead. If that matters to you, make the choice express.
What is the difference between the seat and the hearing venue?
The seat is the legal place of the arbitration: it sets the procedural law, the supervisory court and now the default law of the arbitration agreement. The venue is simply where the hearing happens, and can be anywhere or online. A clause that names only a venue has not fixed any of the things a seat fixes.
Do I need the LCIA or another institution?
No, but if you go ad hoc the agreement has to do the work an institution would otherwise do — adopt a rulebook, usually the UNCITRAL rules, and name an appointing authority. Institutional arbitration costs more in fees and removes the deadlocks and gaps that ad hoc drafting tends to leave.
One arbitrator or three?
One is faster and cheaper and suits most commercial disputes. Three suits high-value or technically complex matters and lets each side participate in constituting the tribunal. The template writes the correct appointment mechanism either way, including what happens if a party does not appoint.
Can I put an arbitration clause in a consumer contract?
Approach it with advice rather than a template. Arbitration clauses imposed on consumers are exposed to the unfair terms regime, and the Arbitration Act 1996 contains provisions restricting the application of arbitration agreements to consumer claims below a level set by order. This template is drafted for business-to-business use.
Is an arbitration award easy to enforce?
Domestically the parties agree that judgment may be enforced in a court of competent jurisdiction. Internationally, awards travel under the New York Convention, and the seat determines the award's nationality for that purpose — another reason the seat is the term to get right.
Should the agreement set a deadline for the award?
Be careful. A fixed period written into the agreement looks efficient but hands a losing party an argument that the tribunal lost its authority when the deadline passed. This template asks the tribunal to set a proportionate timetable in consultation with the parties instead.
Related templates
Disclaimer
This template and guide are for general information only and are not legal advice, and no solicitor or barrister has reviewed them for your matter. They cover England, Wales and Northern Ireland; Scotland has its own arbitration legislation. Take advice before using an arbitration clause with consumers or employees.
