Evolution or Revolution: Have We Mastered International Arbitration or Do We Need a New Blueprint for the Future?

An international conference to celebrate twenty years of study and research in international arbitration at the Master Program of International Commercial Arbitration Law at Stockholm University. The conference will bring together leading arbitration practitioners, academics, and arbitrators from all over the world to examine whether we have truly mastered international arbitration in the last two decades or whether the world today requires a new blue print for the future to address new and ever changing legal questions, users of international arbitration, and geopolitical issues. Can the international arbitration community simply evolve or is it time for a revolution?

The event will feature a 1.5 day conference on 31 August and 1 September at the Modern Art Museum in Stockholm followed by a gala dinner at the Vasa Museum on 1 September.

Additional networking events, including young practitioners’ and D&I events, an ICAL alumni lunch, sightseeing activity to explore Stockholm, and post-conference brunch in the archipelago are being planned to occur on 30, 31 August and 2 September before and after the main conference and dinner festivities. Additional information and registration details for the additional events is available at the Full Schedule of Anniversary Events page. Check back for updates!

 

Moderna Museet 4 Exercisplan 111 49 Norrmalm Sweden

Anniversary Conference

Moderna Museet, Skeppsholmen, Stockholm

Thursday, 31 August 2023

CONFERENCE AGENDA

1:30pm-2:00pm

Registration

2:00pm-2:15pm

Welcome Remarks

Conference Organizing Committee

Jessika Van Der Sluijs Björkman, Dean of the Law Faculty, Stockholm University

Robin Oldenstam, Chair SCC Board; Partner, Mannheimer Swartling

2:15pm-2:35pm

Welcome Keynote Address

Carolyn Lamm, Partner, White & Case

2:35pm-4:05pm

International Arbitration of Tomorrow: Meeting the Demands of An Evolving World

To what extent can international arbitration remain relevant in times of apparent deglobalization, geopolitical shifts, and recent crises? Do we have the right tools in the international arbitration toolbox, or is it time to devise novel ones to effectively resolve new types of disputes?

Session Chair: James (Jim) Morrison, Partner, Peters & Kim

Speakers: Ginta Ahrel, Partner, Westerberg & Partners; Kabir Duggal, Senior International Arbitration Advisor, Arnold & Porter; Ndanga Kamau, International Lawyer, Ndanga Kamau Law; Eden Li, Senior Associate, WongPartnership LLP; Reza Mohtashami KC, Partner, Three Crowns

4:05pm-4:30pm

Coffee Break

4:30pm-6:00pm

Rise of the Machines or Sleep Mode: Is International Arbitration Ready for the Technology Revolution?

Is international arbitration on the verge of getting swept up into the technology revolution? Should it? This panel will examine technological advancements that international arbitration is or should be using. It will also explore issues that an overreliance on technology could bring, such as ethics, access to justice, cybersecurity, business, and personal data protection.

Session Chair: Mihaela Apostol, Arbitration Consultant & Co-Founder ArbTech

Speakers: Joel Altschul, Partner, Forensic & Integrity Services, EY, Sweden; Monica Crespo Chanis, Jus Mundi; Edward Jansso Stiernblad, Senior Associate, Vinge; Sophie Nappert, Independent Arbitrator, 3VB; Anibal Sabater, Partner, Chaffetz Lindsey

6:00pm-8:00pm

Moderna Museet, Skeppsholmen, Stockholm

Opening Cocktail Reception

Private access to the collection at Moderna Museet will be available during the cocktail reception for conference attendees.

Welcome Remarks: Kristoffer Löf, President SAA; Partner, Mannheimer Swartling

1 September 2023

Anniversary Conference

Moderna Museet, Skeppsholmen, Stockholm

9:00am-9:05am

Welcome Remarks

Crina Baltag, Associate Professor & Co-Director of ICAL LL.M. Program, Stockholm University; Daria Kozlowska-Rautiainen, Senior Lecturer & Co-Director of ICAL LL.M. Program, Stockholm University

9:05am-10:35am

Do Arbitral Institutions Need More Input from Us?

Parties, counsels, and arbitrators often look to arbitral institutions as leaders and agents of change to confront new and existing challenges in international arbitration. But are they contributing to finding adequate solutions? This panel will share experiences and discuss what users of international arbitration can and should be doing (or what they should stop doing) to support the institutions as they confront new and evolving issues.

Session Chair: Stefan Kröll, Professor & Director of the Center for International Dispute Resolution, Bucerius Law School

Speakers: Caroline Facloner, Secretary General, SCC Arbitration Institute; Luíza Kömel, Secretary General, CAM-CCBC; Kevin Nash, Registrar, Singapore International Arbitration Centre; Celeste E. Salinas Quero, Legal Counsel, ICSID

10:35am-11:00am

Coffee Break

11:00am-12:30pm

Conflicts, Independence, Impartiality: Are the Views on Conflicts Stale?

The UNCITRAL/ICSID Code of Conduct for Arbitrators in International Investment Dispute Resolution and the amendment process of the IBA Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest in International Arbitration suggest that a revised approach conflicts is essential for preserving the legitimacy of international arbitration. Do arbitrators need to do more or take different approaches to disclosures? Should specific approaches be taken where States or state entities, experts and third-party funders appear in the arbitration proceedings? Are issue conflicts to be taken seriously?on can and should be doing (or what they should stop doing) to support the institutions as they confront new and evolving issues.

Session Chair: Giulio Palermo, Partner, Archipel

Speakers: Sara Koleilat-Aranjo, Partner, Al Tamimi & Co.; Loukas Mistelis, Partner, Clyde & Co.; Johan Sidklev, Partner, Roschier; Erica Stein, Independent Arbitrator, Stein Arbitration

12:30pm-1:30pm

Lunch Break

1:30pm-2:00pm

Keynote Address

John Fellas, Independent Arbitrator, Fellas Arbitration

2:00pm-3:30pm

Identifying and Confronting the Challenges of Corruption in Arbitration

What exactly are the “challenges” of corruption in international arbitration? Are they essentially the same challenges we have faced over the past decades or are they evolving? And do the traditional procedural and substantive approaches to confront those challenges still work? Is it time to go back to the drawing board in an ever-changing world?

Session Chair: Jurgita Petkute, Partner, KNOETZL

Speakers: Steven P. Finizio, Partner, WilmerHale; Maria Kostystka, Partner, Winston & Strawn LLP; Ignacio Torterola, Partner GST LLP; Rikard Wikström-Hermansen, Independent Arbitrator

3:30pm-3:55pm

Coffee Break

3:55pm-5:25pm

Trusted Advisors Outside the Hearing Room

Effective dispute management may begin before an arbitration is filed and requires adapting in real-time throughout the dispute. But do counsel too frequently default to “tried and true methods”, or do they innovate as the case demands to serve the commercial objectives of the parties? This panel will examine what in-house and external counsel effectively do to manage a dispute and where it is time for some new methods, considering issues like dispute avoidance, time and cost efficiency, settlement opportunities, business relationships, and internal company management.

Session Chair: Sherlin Tung, Partner, Withersworldwide

Speakers: Henri Hätönen, Head of Legal, Outokumpu; Edgar Martinez, Senior Legal Director, Japan Tobacco International; Tuuli Timonen, Director of Licensing, Nokia Technologies

5:25pm-5:30pm

Closing Remarks

Conference Organizing Committee

6:30pm

Gala Dinner

This celebratory event will commence with a cocktail reception and private guided tours of the Vasa ship and museum and will be followed by a sit down dinner.

Gala Dinner

Vasa Museum, Galärvarvsvägen 14, Stockholm

Please visit the Sponsors page for more information about the generous sponsors making this event possible.