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02 February 2024 / Deborah Ruff , Charles Golsong
Issue: 8057 / Categories: Features , Profession , Arbitration
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How is 2024 shaping up for international arbitration?

Deborah Ruff & Charles Golsong consider the factors likely to affect arbitration at home & abroad in 2024
  • Explains that the impact of the PACCAR decision may be short-lived.
  • Considers other developments important to practitioners , including the rise of generative AI.

The past 12 months saw a number of significant developments relating to or impacting international arbitration.

The decision in R (on the application of PACCAR Inc and others ) v Competition Appeal Tribunal and others [2023] UKSC 28, in which the Supreme Court held that litigation funding agreements constitute damages-based agreements and as such are unenforceable unless they satisfy certain conditions, sent shockwaves across the litigation funding industry.

It appears, however, that the impact of the PACCAR ruling could be short-lived.

In the first case considering its implications, the High Court granted an asset preservation order in favour of a litigation funder, finding that there was a ‘serious issue to be tried’ that part of a litigation funding agreement remained enforceable, even

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig

Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig

Workplace law firm expands commercial disputes team with senior consultant hire

EIP—Rob Barker

EIP—Rob Barker

IP firm promotes patent attorney to partner

Muckle LLP—Ryan Butler

Muckle LLP—Ryan Butler

Banking and restructuring team bolstered by insolvency specialist

NEWS
The Supreme Court has delivered a decisive ruling on termination under the JCT Design & Build form. Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Singer KC and Jonathan Ward, of Kings Chambers, analyse Providence Building Services v Hexagon Housing Association [2026] UKSC 1, which restores the first-instance decision and curbs contractors’ termination rights for repeated late payment
Secondments, disciplinary procedures and appeal chaos all feature in a quartet of recent rulings. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, examines how established principles are being tested in modern disputes
The AI revolution is no longer a distant murmur—it’s at the client’s desk. Writing in NLJ this week, Peter Ambrose, CEO of The Partnership and Legalito, warns that the ‘AI chickens’ have ‘come home to roost’, transforming not just legal practice but the lawyer–client relationship itself
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
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