News & Insights

On 30 September and 14 October 2026 the Kluwer Arbitration Blog published two proposals on AI in arbitration: a standard clause for Procedural Order No. 1 that bars tribunals from delegating decisions to AI, and case-management tools for records that AI has made too large to read.

On 28 October 2026 Korea's Ministry of Justice said it will not challenge the 30 September 2026 remand award in favour of Elliott Associates in the High Court in London. The decision ends an eight-year KORUS FTA dispute and shows how seat, attribution and cost shape a State's choice.

On 22 October 2026 the Federal Court of Australia dismissed a challenge to enforcement of a London LCIA award in LandOcean v West Indies Exploration, rejecting a double-recovery argument based on a Trinidad and Tobago judgment. According to creditors' counsel, the ruling shows how narrowly public policy is applied.

On 6 October 2026, according to law-firm commentary, the Singapore High Court set aside an ad hoc demurrage award in DZD v DZE [2026] SGHC 199, finding no valid arbitration agreement in a charter recap the trader said was forged. The court also held that a respondent's silence does not create one.

On 22 September 2026 the SCC Arbitration Institute published a guide on administrative secretaries. Its consent-based model and its remarks on AI offer a template for regulating AI use by tribunals.

In early October 2026 Division Benches of the Delhi High Court set aside awards made by arbitrators appointed unilaterally and directed the Reserve Bank of India to caution banks, after an affidavit disclosed 4,155 cases before one arbitrator.

Mauritius ratified on 17 August 2026 and Uzbekistan acceded on 28 August 2026. Uzbekistan's accession carries two declarations that limit how the Convention applies there.

Honduras deposited its instrument of ratification of the ICSID Convention on 17 July 2026, and the Convention entered into force for it on 16 August 2026.

ICSID's statistics for the year to 30 June 2026 report a record 363 administered cases, a 63% to 37% split between decisions and settlements, and damages in only 30% of decided cases.

On 4 September 2026 the Centre for Online Resolution of Disputes launched revised arbitration rules with an AI Practice Note that separates permitted, disclosable and prohibited uses.

On 14 August 2026 the DIFC Court of First Instance set aside a DIAC award in full because the majority relied on points no party had pleaded. The ruling builds on the Court of Appeal's Oheo Bank v Parker.

Regulation (EU) 2026/1744, published on 24 July 2026, postpones the AI Act's high-risk obligations to 2 December 2027. Annex III covers AI used in a similar way to judicial tools in alternative dispute resolution.

On 6 July 2026 UNCITRAL adopted a package on arbitral awards and notices of arbitration in electronic form, including a recommendation on how the New York Convention should be read.

An ICSID tribunal dismissed every claim brought by Ascent Resources against Slovenia in July 2026, after upholding its jurisdiction, and ordered the claimants to contribute EUR 3,000,000 to the State's costs.

The ICC's Note on the conduct of arbitration, dated 1 June 2026, sets out how sealed offers reach the tribunal and what the Court may publish about a case. Practical steps for parties who care about settlement leverage and confidentiality.

On 24 June 2026 the Court of Appeal ruled that India did not submit to English jurisdiction merely by ratifying the New York Convention. What the decision means for enforcing awards against states and for how to draft the waiver.

In July 2026 the ICC's task force on AI opened an anonymous survey of arbitration users. The 2026 Rules have no AI clause, but the ICC Note on tribunal secretaries draws a line between assistance and delegation that parties can reuse.

In ARIHQ v. Santé Québec (22 April 2026) the Quebec Superior Court annulled an arbitral award after finding that the sole arbitrator had delegated drafting to AI and cited authorities that do not exist. What it says about arbitrator conduct and how parties can protect themselves.

On 14 May 2026 the US Supreme Court held unanimously that a federal court which stayed claims for arbitration keeps jurisdiction to confirm or vacate the resulting award. What the ruling settles, what it leaves open, and why seat choice still matters.

The LCIA's call for input on a revision of its 2020 Rules closed on 11 May 2026. A look at the themes reported, what happens next, and how parties should treat a rule set that is about to move.

On 26 May 2026 the United States told the Supreme Court that Spain's petition in Kingdom of Spain v. Blasket should be denied, while agreeing that the D.C. Circuit erred on who decides whether an agreement to arbitrate exists.

The ICC published its 2026 Arbitration Rules on 22 May 2026, effective 1 June. A practical reading for contract drafters: Terms of Reference, expedited tracks, funding disclosure and secretaries.

On 19 May 2026 the European Commission published draft guidelines that treat arbitration as ADR for the purposes of the AI Act's high-risk rules. What they cover, what remains open, and what to put in your clause or first procedural order.

On 25 March 2026 the Supreme Court of India refused to let award-debtors reopen at the enforcement stage points that the Singapore seat court had decided. The decision raises the stakes of the set-aside forum.

On 22 April 2026 the Quebec Superior Court set aside an award whose legal authorities did not exist. It distinguishes AI assistance from delegation of the decision, and parties can draft for that line.

On 23 March 2026 the ICC announced that its Executive Board had approved revised Rules of Arbitration, to apply to requests filed from 1 June 2026. We set out what is known and what contract owners can do before the text is published.

On 24 February 2026 the Singapore High Court held that Spain could not rely on state immunity or the intra-EU objection to resist registration of an ICSID award. We explain why the choice of enforcement forum matters.

On 24 February 2026 the Swiss Arbitration Centre published its 2025 figures: 125 new cases, a third of them expedited. We read the numbers for what they mean when drafting a dispute clause.

On 23 February 2026 the English Commercial Court partially set aside a US$48.5 million treaty award against South Korea and remitted issues to the tribunal. The ruling is a reminder of how much the seat decides.

On 13 March 2026 the Council of the EU agreed its position on simplifying the AI Act, with fixed later dates for high-risk obligations. The text is not final, and parties that use AI in disputes should plan around that uncertainty.

On 16 and 17 February 2026 UNCITRAL held a colloquium in New York on AI and remote hearings in arbitration and mediation. No new instrument has emerged, but the direction is clear enough to draft for.

A ministerial draft published in late January 2026 would reshape German arbitration law. We set out what it proposes and what parties should consider when drafting clauses and choosing a seat.

ICSID's 2025 caseload statistics, published on 17 February 2026, record 63 new cases, the second-highest annual number in its history, with treaty-based claims dominant and a third of concluded arbitrations ending without an award. Investors can use the figures to calibrate expectations.

On 6 February 2026 the German Federal Court of Justice suspended proceedings over the enforcement of a Russian arbitral award until the Court of Justice of the EU decides whether EU sanctions form part of public policy in award review. Parties with sanctions exposure should plan for delay and uncertainty.

In December 2025 the UK government announced that it will legislate to reverse the effect of the 2023 PACCAR ruling on litigation funding agreements. No bill or timetable has been published, so funded parties need to plan for an interim period.

The revised KCAB International Arbitration Rules took effect on 1 January 2026. One provision encourages tribunals to discuss with the parties the use of AI tools by any party or arbitrator. It is soft law inside a rulebook, and it shows what parties can expect to be asked.

In two decisions of 8 and 10 December 2025 the Supreme Court of India addressed what happens when a tribunal's proceedings are terminated for unpaid fees and when its mandate lapses for want of a timely award. Both bear on budgeting, timetabling and the choice of forum.

On 19 November 2025 the European Commission proposed to defer the AI Act's high-risk rules to as late as 2 December 2027. The AI Act already names AI used in alternative dispute resolution as a high-risk use case, so the proposal is worth reading alongside any AI protocol in an arbitration.

On 12 December 2025 the French Ministry of Justice opened a public consultation, running to 20 January 2026, on a draft decree that is the first stage of a three-step reform of French arbitration law. The draft would tighten rules on waiver, enforcement and interim measures.

On 10 November 2025 the English Commercial Court refused to substitute an assignee as claimant in the enforcement of an ICSID award against Spain, holding that such awards cannot be assigned. The ruling matters to funders, to buyers of awards and to anyone who plans to monetise a claim.

Kyrgyzstan acceded to the Singapore Convention on Mediation on 1 December 2025, becoming the twentieth State party. The accession, and the reservation attached to it, are a practical prompt to review how mediation steps are written into dispute clauses.

On 22 October 2025 the UK Supreme Court held that Nigeria's costs in the P&ID litigation should be awarded in sterling, not naira. The reasoning is a useful prompt to review how fees are billed and how costs exposure is planned.

A panel at the XII CAM-CCBC Arbitration Congress in October 2025 discussed AI in evidence-taking, from document review to deepfakes. We summarise the reported views and what parties can write into Procedural Order No. 1.

A decision of the UAE's judicial unification authority, issued on 4 August 2025, ends conflicting case law on whether arbitrators must sign every page of an award. We set out what it means for award formalities and enforcement.

On 3 October 2025 the D.C. Circuit let enforcement proceed against India but sent back a US$93.3 million treaty award, holding that India may still argue the dispute was outside the treaty's scope.

In September 2025 the American Arbitration Association announced an AI arbitrator due to launch in November for documents-only construction disputes. We set out what is known and what parties should check before agreeing to such a process.

On 24 September 2025 a US appeals court held that a non-signatory who signed the Terms of Reference, which submitted arbitrability to the tribunal, was bound by the tribunal's jurisdictional ruling. The opinion is unpublished.

The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators has published an updated version of its Guideline on the Use of AI in Arbitration, with a model agreement and procedural order. We explain how parties can use it.

A Baker McKenzie review of 2024 institutional statistics, published in September 2025, shows steady use of expedited procedures and an uneven picture on emergency arbitration. We draw out the drafting lessons.

In July 2025 the Singapore International Commercial Court held that Russia was precluded from re-arguing immunity after Dutch seat courts had decided the point. We explain why seat choice matters for enforcement.

The reforms to the Arbitration Act 1996 took effect on 1 August 2025. We set out what the statute provides and what contract drafters should revisit.

In judgments of 7 May and 28 July 2025 the English Court of Appeal set aside a Swiss-Czech treaty award as to a company that had lost its Swiss control, but confirmed it as to the individual investor. The decision shows how investor structure can decide whether a claim survives.

In July and August 2025 two English Upper Tribunal decisions applied the Ayinde guidance to fictitious AI-generated citations, with different responses for an unrepresented party and for counsel. The contrast is useful for arbitral procedure.

Obligations for providers of general-purpose AI models under the EU AI Act began to apply on 2 August 2025, after Commission guidelines of 18 July 2025. We look at what they mean for vendor and customer contracts and for the forum chosen to resolve disputes.

On 14 July 2025 the Commercial Court held that an ICC tribunal had no jurisdiction because the top-ranking contract document provided for ad hoc arbitration in London. The case is a lesson in drafting dispute clauses across several contract documents.

The ICC's 2024 dispute resolution statistics, released in June 2025, show a record total caseload value alongside a large share of modest disputes. We draw out the practical lessons for sizing procedure and cost to the dispute.

Commencement regulations made on 16 July 2025 bring the Arbitration Act 2025 into force on 1 August. We outline the main changes and the drafting points they raise for contracts with an English seat.

On 26 June 2025 the Swiss Federal Supreme Court rejected China's second attempt to overturn the jurisdictional award in Song v China, seated in Geneva. The decision shows how narrowly Swiss courts treat late evidence and foreign criminal judgments.

On 6 June 2025 the Divisional Court of England and Wales warned that lawyers who use AI for legal research must verify it against authoritative sources. The judgment concerns courts, but its logic carries over to arbitral proceedings.

On 5 June 2025 the US Supreme Court held that personal jurisdiction over a foreign state under the FSIA requires only an applicable exception and proper service. We explain what remains open and what it means for contracts with state-owned counterparties.