Ukrainian Arbitration Association held the First Annual Arbitration Conference
During two working days of the Conference, 24 speakers from more than 12 jurisdictions considered and discussed with the participants a wide range of topical issues in international arbitration, as well as the main trends that will definitely affect the development of international arbitration in the future.
Olena Perepelynska, the President of the UAA, noted "The main idea of he UAA Annual Arbitration Conference, launched this year, is to raise and discuss strategic issues in the field of arbitration, which are equally relevant for all jurisdictions. This explains the international character of the speakers invited to the discussion".
The speakers devoted the first day of the conference to the complex issues of access to arbitration and decision-making in arbitration. Among other things, they talked about maintaining the transparency of arbitration in the context of attracting third-party funding, and about the advantages and disadvantages of the current trend towards the publication of arbitral awards, and about tools for early detection of arbitrator bias, and about modern requirements for the skills of an arbitration lawyer.
Special attention was also attracted by a special presentation of the UAA servey which systematized and summarized the judicial practice on the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards in Ukraine within the last 15 years.
On the second day of the conference, speakers focused on the practical aspects of arbitration, in particular, court assistance in taking of evidence in support of arbitration proceedings, regulation of the use of illegally obtained documents or materials as evidense in arbitration, as well as dilemmas associated with resolving disputes in arbitration without oral hearings.
The most expected presentation of the second day of the conference was a speech by Alexis Mourre, President of the ICC International Court of Arbitration, who clearly outlined the trends and aspirations of arbitration as a separate branch of law, noting:
“In this fast-evolving landscape I would like to suggest that three questions deserve the urgent attention of arbitral institutions and of the international arbitration community. These questions are potential evolution for the future, field for reform and conditions for continued legitimacy and development of arbitration as the normal way of resolving international disputes.
These three reforms: [1] establishing a global standard and ensuring the full disclosure of conflicts, [2] establishing transparency for institution decision making, for governance, for the publication of awards, [3] establishing a global standard for advocacy and counsel conduct - these are reforms which would go a long way in establishing the legitimacy of arbitration in the decades to come and to strengthen arbitration as a global system of justice”
Please, watch the conference or its individual sessions in the recording on the YouTube channel of the UAA at the link.
Reference:
Over the course of two days, about 700 participants watched the conference live.
The speakers of the conference were:
Anna Guillard Sazhko, Shearman & Sterling, France; Svitlana Romanova, Metinvest, Ukraine; Dr. Maria Hauser-Morel, Hanefeld, France / Poland; Rytis Valunas, AB Klaipedos Nafta, Lithuania; prof. Dr. Zia Akinci, Akinci Law, Turkey; Serhii Uvarov, UAA Secretary General, Ukraine; Oleksii Maslov, Avellum, Ukraine; Olena Perepelynska, UAA, INTEGRITES, Ukraine; prof. Catherine Rogers, Bocconi University, Queen Mary University of London, Italy / USA; Marc Henry, French Arbitration Association, FTMS, France; Teresa Giovannini, Lalive, Switzerland; Alexis Mourre, President of the International Court of Arbitration, International Chamber of Commerce, France; Olexander Droug, Sayenko Kharenko, Ukraine; Remy Gerbay, MoloLamken, USA; Iryna Moroz, AGA Partners, Ukraine; Tetyana Nesterchuk, Fountain Court Chamber, UK; Gabrielle Nater-Bass, Homburger, Switzerland; Noah Rubins QC, Freshfields Bruckhouse Deringer, France; Dr. Patricia Shaughnessy, Stockholm University, Sweden; Artem Doudko, Osborne Clarke, UK; Markiyan Malskiy, Arzinger, Ukraine; Irina Tymczyszyn, Tymczyszyn Arbitration, UK; Laurence Ponty, Archipel, Switzerland; Kawar Qureshi (QC), Serle Court and McNair Chambers, UK, Qatar.
