Lord Neuberger delivered a keynote speech at the London International Disputes Week (LIDW) 2023 Main Conference on Tuesday 16 May 2023, where he considered London’s arbitration offering and covered topics including artificial intelligence, reformations to the 1996 English Arbitration Act, and reducing the time and expense of the arbitral process.
Lord Neuberger posited that the biggest technological challenge faced by dispute resolution is artificial intelligence, which has already been used in basic form in some litigation and arbitration, may develop to the point where machines could eventually be able to decide issues of fact, discretion and law. Whilst acknowledging that such decisions might be cheaper, faster and possibly more consistent than decisions by humans, lack of transparency and acceptability to the public would at least for a time be potential problems.
The UK Law Commission was commended on its consultation papers regarding the review and update of aspects of the 1996 English Arbitration Act. He noted that there was “much to be said” for building on the Act’s success and that the Law Commission should aim for a law which provides a good framework for the process, limiting court intervention and striking the right balance between confidentiality and transparency – principles previously outlined by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators for safe seats of arbitration.
Lord Neuberger noted that international enforceability of arbitral awards through the New York Convention could now be seen as the key advantage to arbitration. Given the effect awards can have on companies and on countries since the arrival of bilateral investment treaties, and given that arbitral decisions and reasoning could help drive the law forward and assist with predictability when doing business, Lord Neuberger reflected on the advantage in publishing awards.
Noting that arbitration isn’t necessarily seen as the quicker, cheaper, informal alternative to Commercial Court litigation following judicial work in reducing court costs, Lord Neuberger considered streamlining costly litigation and arbitration procedures through online dispute resolution or fast track hearings. When discussing challenges to awards, Lord Neuberger said that arbitrators had a right to expect the courts to back their decisions and awards “if they properly can”.
The keynote speech concluded with an acknowledgement that London has so far proved successful in accommodating the changes and improvements that are “essential features of a successful international dispute resolution system in a fast-changing world”.