Peter Steen, Partner and Bethan Byrne, Of Counsel, examine the increasing use of arbitration in trust disputes and discuss the potential recent legislative reforms in England and Wales in an article for the STEP Journal. They highlight the shift away from the once dominant view that trust matters could not be arbitrated, noting the growing number of significant disputes now being resolved through arbitral processes.
The article (which requires a STEP membership login to read in full) considers whether arbitration’s supposed advantages – privacy, speed and lower cost – are being delivered, noting cases such as Volpi v Volpi where disputes have still reached the courts. It also highlights that, despite many jurisdictions adopting clear legislation to support trust arbitration, England and Wales has been slow to do the same. While the Arbitration Act 2025 brings useful reforms, it leaves key questions about the arbitrability of trust matters unresolved. Peter and Bethan suggest that real progress may now rely on the courts, with future case law potentially guiding other common law jurisdictions.
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