The Historical Treatment of Arbitration under English Law and the Development of the Policy Favouring Arbitration

The article examines the judicial attitude and the development of the policy of English law favouring arbitration. It suggests that, contrary to the prevailing narrative in legal literature, English judicial attitudes in the 18th and 19th centuries never reflected a hostility to arbitration. As is demonstrated, a policy favouring arbitration was introduced by the legislature as early as the end of the 17th century, and was subsequently developed by English courts deciding under statutory law and in the 19th century under the common law. The analysis offers, for the first time, an account of English arbitration as a dispute resolution system which originally emerged as being part of, rather than antagonistic to, the English courts system. Understanding how arbitration developed in England is important not only for historical purposes, but also because it can provide helpful insights into current debates surrounding the legitimacy and potential reform of English arbitration law.