The British Virgin Islands - a new international arbitration centre?

A new venue for arbitration?

Just three years ago, the British Virgin Islands had an outdated Arbitration Act that had not been amended since its passage in 1976 and which incorporated neither the Model Law nor the New York Convention. It could not on any grounds compete with other, already well-established arbitration jurisdictions as a possible venue for arbitration proceedings. A lot has changed since then.

In 2010, a Commercial Court was established, providing a specialised forum for litigation – but arbitration continued to lag behind. Now, the British Virgin Islands has a new Arbitration Act. Based substantially on the Model Law, the Arbitration Act was passed by Parliament on 17 December 2013 and is awaiting royal assent.