Registration and welcome cocktail at the Hotel Oasia
Address: 100 Peck Seah Street, Singapore 079333

Registration at Maxwell Chambers
Address: 32 Maxwell Road, Singapore 069115

Welcome address by the AIJA President
Xavier Costa Arnau, AIJA President, Roca Junyent, Spain

Introduction to the seminar by the Organising Committee

Keynote speech: Regulating Counsel’s Conduct in International Arbitration – Nobel Aim but Forlorn Hope?
Michael HWANG S.C., Michael Hwang Chambers (Singapore) / Essex Court Chambers (UK)

Panel: Taking stock of the New World Order of International Arbitration - The view of the Arbitral Institutions on their new rules

Time to make an assessment of the reform wave on the rules of arbitration of leading international arbitration institutions. Has reform worked? Is arbitration now more efficient? Is arbitration now less costly? Are expedited procedure rules the answer? Is arbitration now more transparent? Have emergency arbitrators and emergency relief procedures been effective? Is cross-institutional consolidation viable? What is left to improve? Is the reform wave over?

Moderator:
Colin DELANEY, Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP, USA
Speakers:
Aliona BITKIVSKAJA, Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), Singapore
Joe LIU, Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC), Hong Kong
Mahesh Rai, Drew & Napier / ICC YAF representative for Southeast Asia, Singapore

Coffee break

Panel: Taking stock of efficiency and costs in international arbitration - The view of the users. What do counsel, arbitrators and in-house counsel think?

Time to make an assessment if international arbitration can be quicker, more efficient, and less costly, or is this just a pipe dream. How can the problem of excessive delay in the issuance of awards be solved? Can arbitrators be held accountable? Is arbitration now too much like litigation? In the era of email, has document production made unrealistic to expect that costs in arbitration can be managed? How can the issue of overly lawyered arbitrations be solved? Should and can arbitrators act more proactively, giving e.g. preliminary assessment of the merits of a claim and initiating settlements? Do procedures to determine early and summary dismissal of claims and/or defences have a place in international arbitration and do the current proposals of institutions go far enough? When are documents-only proceedings adequate? What is the proper balance between expediency, efficiency and due process?

Moderator:
Catrice GAYER, Herbert Smith Freehills Germany LLP, Germany
Speakers:
Lars Markert, Nishimura & Asahi, Japan
Vanita Jegathesan, Chevron, Singapore
Simon Dunbar, King & Spalding, Singapore

Lunch

Workshops - first round (all three to be repeated at 16:00)

I. Taking stock of Third Party Funding in international arbitration

Time to make an assessment on what role will third party funding play in the future of international arbitration. Is it fundamental for arbitration’s survival? What regulations, if any, should govern third party funding? When should disclosure of the existence and identity of third-party funders be required and where should the line of disclosure be drawn, if at all? How should arbitral tribunals treat confidential and privileged information shared by a client and/or client’s counsel with a third-party funder? Will information no longer be confidential or privileged and there subject to disclosure? What impact, if any, should third-party funding have in awarding and allocating costs in international arbitration? What about on security for costs determinations?

Moderator:
Kohe HASAN, Reed Smith Pte. Ltd., Singapore
Speakers:
Charlie MORRIS, Woodsford Litigation Funding, Singapore, Hong Kong and London
Baldev BHINDER, Joseph Tan Jude Benny, Singapore
Katie CHUNG, Norton Rose Fulbright (Asia), Singapore
Dr. Heiko BÜSING, PricewaterhouseCoopers Legal, Germany

II. Taking stock of international arbitration in the age of transparency

Time to make an assessment if transparency has been taken a step too far by international organizations, arbitral institutions, and legislators, or a step too short. What is the right balance between transparency and confidentiality? Is the publication of challenge decisions of arbitrators, awards and administrative decisions by the institutions necessary to strengthen the users' trust in the process? Do we know enough about arbitrators? How much should we know more? Should we know more about arbitrator's procedural preferences and about the scope of their other commitments? How much information in general should be disclosed and available about arbitration proceedings and its actors? Is transparency a necessity for the survival of the international arbitration system? Is transparency only relevant in investor-state disputes, and not in commercial arbitration?

Moderator:
Julie RANEDA, Schellenberg Wittmer Pte Ltd, Singapore
Speakers:
Eddy LEE, FTI Consulting, Singapore
FOO Yuet Min, Drew & Napier, Singapore
Jonathan Lim, WilmerHale, UK

III. Taking stock of international arbitration in the age of technology

Time to make an assessment if arbitration is evolving in par with technological breakthroughs. Is the arbitration community up to date in terms of using IT tools? What will be the role of artificial intelligence in international arbitration? Is there a future for online dispute resolution? What effect will blockchain technology have on international arbitration?

Moderator:
Polina Permyakova, Delphi, Sweden
Speakers:
Rick BARKER, Accuracy, Italy
Darius CHAN, Norton Rose Fulbright (Asia) LLP, Singapore
Prof. Manuel A. GOMEZ, Florida International University College of Law, USA

Coffee break

Workshops - second round

I. Taking stock of Third Party Funding in international arbitration

II. Taking stock of international arbitration in the age of transparency

III. Taking stock of international arbitration in the age of technology

Meeting of AIJA’s International Arbitration Commission

Dinner at Jumbo Seafood
Address: 20 Upper Circular Road, #B1-48 The Riverwalk, Singapore 058416

Nightlife in Singapore
Not included in the registration fees, payable locally

Panel: Time to take stock of the investor-state dispute resolution system

What does the future hold for the investor-state dispute resolution system? Are the criticisms aimed at it justified and founded, or are critics missing the mark? Can free trade prosper with less ISDS? Can ISDS survive the populist tide? Will investor-state arbitration be substituted by investment court systems?

Moderator:
Eduardo DE LA PEÑA BERNAL, Reed Smith LLP, USA
Speakers:
Maria GRITSENKO, VEON, Netherlands
KOH Swee Yen, WongPartnership LLP, Singapore
Dan TAN, Dan Tan Law, USA
Elodie DULAC, King & Spalding, Singapore

Coffee break

Panel: Looking at the Crystal Ball. What will the next 10 years hold for international arbitration?

Time to think in 2028 and AIJA’s 20th Arbitration Conference. What will the conference be about? Will demand for arbitration grow or stall? Will diversity in the constitution of arbitral tribunals become the rule rather than the exception? What potential areas of innovation and future trends will develop during the next 10 years?

Moderator:
Tero KOVANEN, Borenius Attorneys Ltd, Finland
Speakers:
Dr. Tai-Heng CHENG, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, USA
Michelangelo CICOGNA, De Berti Jacchia Franchini Forlani, Italy
Francis XAVIER, Rajah & Tann, Singapore
Charis TAN, DWF, Singapore

Lunch at the Maxwell Chambers

Optional afternoon social programme
More details to follow soon
Not included in the registration fees, payable locally