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# Can an Arbitration Agreement Be Unilateral? The English High Court Says Yes
- URL: https://internationalarbitrationobserver.com/can-an-arbitration-agreement-be-unilateral-the-english-high-court-says-yes/
- Published: 2026-10-31T19:30:57.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-31T19:30:57.000Z
- Author: Pierluigi Salvati
- Tags: Commercial Arbitration

The English High Court has recently addressed this question in **A, B, C & D v E \[2026\] EWHC 2590 (BP)**, in a decision worth noting for anyone dealing with the drafting and enforcement of arbitration agreements.

The dispute arose out of a family-owned international business group. Certain family members had signed a **Deed** confirming that they held shares in local operating companies as nominees for the parent company. The Deed also gave the parent company a unilateral right to refer disputes to **LCIA arbitration**.

When the dispute arose, the signatories challenged the tribunal's jurisdiction, arguing that the arbitration clause lacked the mutuality required to qualify as an arbitration agreement under the **Arbitration Act 1996**.

The High Court rejected the argument. Drawing on Pittalis v Sherefettin and Anzen v Hermes One, the Court confirmed that an arbitration agreement need not confer reciprocal rights to refer disputes to arbitration. What matters is the existence of a **binding obligation to submit disputes to arbitration**.

The statutory language is telling. Section 6(1) refers to an “agreement to submit to arbitration”, not a bilateral contract granting both parties identical procedural rights.

The fact that the undertaking was contained in a **deed** was particularly important: a unilateral promise made in that form can be legally binding and enforceable without the need for ordinary contractual consideration.

The judgment also offers useful guidance on two related issues. First, alleged conditions precedent affecting the underlying deed do not automatically invalidate its arbitration clause, given the separability principle under section 7\. Secondly, an arbitration clause covering disputes “arising in relation to” a deed may extend to historical conduct where that conduct forms part of the legal relationship expressly acknowledged in the deed.

There is a practical drafting lesson here: **asymmetry in the right to commence arbitration does not, of itself, undermine the validity of the arbitration agreement.** The critical question remains whether the obligation to arbitrate has been validly undertaken and recorded in writing.