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Blue Bonds: Making a splash in the Capital Markets
In 2018, the Republic of Seychelles launched the first-ever “blue bond”, with the support of the World Bank Group and the Global Environment Facility.
United Kingdom | Publication | February 2025
On 24 February 2025, the Arbitration Act 2025 (the 2025 Act) received Royal Assent and will come into force on a date to be confirmed. The 2025 Act will insert a number of amendments into the Arbitration Act 1996 with the aim of modernising the Arbitration Act 1996 in order to enhance the status of England and Wales as a leading international forum for dispute resolution. The reforms follow modernisation efforts by other popular arbitration forums, including Hong Kong and Singapore, and aim to ensure London’s competitiveness as a seat for international arbitrations.
This article summarises the key reforms and their practical implications for contract drafting and arbitral procedure.
The reforms in the 2025 Act will come into force through regulations on a day to be appointed by the Secretary of State.
The 2025 Act is the product of recommendations made by the Law Commission designed to promote England and Wales’s status as a world leading destination for commercial arbitration. The key reforms include:1
As stated in the Government’s press release here the new law is intended to re-enforce England and Wales’s status as the “global destination of choice for the legal sector”. The new law “makes arbitration fairer and more efficient by simplifying procedures to reduce costs and protecting arbitrators from unreasonable lawsuits. It also strengthens the courts’ powers to support emergency arbitration so time-sensitive decisions can be made more easily.” 3
The changes introduced by the 2025 Act are relatively limited “mindful of the consensus that the [Arbitration Act 1996] works well, and that root and branch reform is not needed or wanted”4. However, there are some important practical implications which include:
Publication
In 2018, the Republic of Seychelles launched the first-ever “blue bond”, with the support of the World Bank Group and the Global Environment Facility.
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We are delighted to be participating in Marine Money Week New York 2025. As one of the landmark events for the global shipping finance community, and with the global shipping and maritime industry at such a pivotal juncture, we look forward to catching up with clients and contacts to continue discussions around navigating the current challenges and opportunities.
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On 8 May 2025, the Court of Justice of the European Union (the CJEU) delivered its ruling in case C-581/23 (the Ruling), providing guidance on one of the conditions for an exclusive distribution agreement to benefit from the block exemption under Article 4(b)(i) of the 2010 Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (the VBER)1, notably the so-called ‘parallel imposition requirement’.
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