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International Arbitration Newsletter
First Semester 2025
THE AUTHORS:
Eglantine Canale Jamet, Associate at Sygna Partners
Dayane Darwich, Jurist and Trainee Lawyer at Sygna Partners
As a leading Paris-based firm in international law and dispute resolution, Sygna Partners brings its legal insight to Daily Jus. Through this collaboration, we feature select articles from Sygna’s biannual International Arbitration Newsletter, offering sharp analysis of key French court decisions and their broader relevance to the global arbitration community.
On 8 April 2025, French Minister of Justice Gérald Darmanin unveiled a reform of French arbitration law, hoping to forge consensus by autumn 2025. A Working Group set up in November 2024 and co‑chaired by François Ancel (Cour de cassation) and Professor Thomas Clay outlined a three‑part plan: targeted regulatory tweaks, a consultation cycle with practitioners and academics, and full codification in autumn 2026. Its French‑language report is online.
Global Trends and National Choices: France’s Unique Embrace of Arbitral Autonomy
This initiative takes place within a broader context of intensifying competition among leading arbitration centres, with the UK having recently enacted the new Arbitration Act 2025. This reform, introduced 30 years after the Arbitration Act 1996, addresses all phases of arbitration, from the arbitration agreement through to the enforcement of the award. However, the reform of English arbitration law does not adhere to the same underlying philosophy as that of French practice: whereas France promotes the autonomy of arbitration, viewing it as detached from national legal systems and granting it substantive independence, the United Kingdom takes a more territorial approach, anchoring arbitration more firmly within its domestic legal framework.
Towards a Dedicated French Arbitration Code and a Common Regime
First, the Working Group proposes that the Ministry of Justice adopt a standalone Arbitration Code, which is reproduced as an appendix to its report. While the current body of codified French arbitration law is primarily located in Articles 1442 to 1527 of the Code of Civil Procedure, important provisions are also found in the Civil Code, Commercial Code, Consumer Code and Code of Administrative Justice. Consolidating these provisions into a single, user-friendly code is expected to enhance legal accessibility and strengthen France’s appeal as a seat for international arbitration. The report’s second key proposal follows logically. Although the Code of Civil Procedure currently distinguishes between domestic and international arbitration, the Working Group advocates for a unified core regime inspired by international arbitration law, complemented by a limited set of specific rules. The draft Code therefore sets out general provisions applicable to both domestic and international arbitration, with targeted exceptions (e.g., Article 3, which precludes reliance on domestic law to challenge arbitrability), prior to addressing areas such as family, labour and consumer disputes.
Several proposed innovations aim to enhance flexibility, procedural protection, and efficiency. For instance, the written form would no longer be required for domestic arbitration agreements. Furthermore, electronic awards would be enforceable if their authenticity and integrity are ensured, and the limitation period for annulment would commence upon delivery of the award by the arbitral tribunal, rather than from formal service.
Additional safeguards are introduced:
- Arbitrators must now be natural persons who disclose any circumstances that could compromise their independence or impartiality;
- Protections for vulnerable parties are strengthened; and
- The juge d’appui is granted broader powers to keep proceedings moving forward.
Procedural discipline is likewise reinforced:
- A party that deliberately withholds objections during the arbitration can be deemed to have waived them;
- An annulment judge may remit the case to the arbitral tribunal so it can cure a ground for set‑aside (in line with Article 34(4) of the UNCITRAL Model Law); and
- When a partial award is annulled, any subsequent awards that rely on it may automatically fall, sparing the parties successive annulment petitions.
International Echoes: Singapore’s 2025 Consultation on Setting-Aside and Costs
Overall, the French reform should be closely monitored by Singapore, whose Ministry of Law launched a public consultation on 21 March 2025 covering eight key issues, including:
- Whether courts should be empowered to award arbitration costs following a successful set-aside application;
- Whether distinct cost principles should apply to unsuccessful challenges;
- Whether a leave requirement should be introduced to filter appeals against set-aside decisions;
- Whether the current three-month time limit to file such applications should be shortened;
- Whether appeals on questions of law should be permitted;
- How to determine the governing law of the arbitration agreement;
- Whether jurisdictional review should proceed by way of appeal or de novo hearing;
- Whether to codify tribunals’ powers to summarily dispose of claims under the Singapore International Arbitration Act 1994.
The French proposals concerning accelerated timeframes for challenges, enhanced judicial support, and codified guiding principles are likely to contribute meaningfully to the Singaporean debate.
The authors thank Inès Pilpré, Legal Intern, for her valuable work.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Eglantine Canale Jamet joined Sygna Partners‘ International Litigation and Arbitration Department in 2022 as an Associate. She holds a Master’s in Public International Law (Paris Nanterre) and an Advanced LL.M. in International Criminal Law (Leiden). She has gained experience with international courts (ICC and ICJ) as well as in the Legal Affairs Division of France’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Her practice focuses on immunities and international disputes, with a particular interest in evidence, open-source investigations, and procedural issues.
Dayane Darwich joined Sygna Partners’ International Litigation and Arbitration Department in 2022 as a Jurist and Trainee Lawyer. She holds a Master’s degree in International Law and International Organizations (Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne). She has worked on numerous contentious and advisory proceedings before the International Court of Justice, and has also gained experience at UNESCO. Her work spans a broad spectrum of issues in international law, with a primary focus on international disputes. She has a particular intellectual interest in questions relating to sanctions, territorial matters, the use of force, statehood, and human rights.
*The views and opinions expressed by authors are theirs and do not necessarily reflect those of their organizations, employers, or Daily Jus, Jus Mundi, or Jus Connect.
