Taking Stock: International Commercial Courts in Europe and Asia

Arbitration+3

Date: 17 September 2021

Time: 09:30 - 17:00 (UK time)

Venue: Online

Event Details

In recent years, International Commercial Courts have been established across Europe and in Asia. Now that these courts have been dealing with international cases for a while, it is time to take stock and look at various questions: the reasons behind the recent proliferation of these courts and their international features in terms of court language, judicial composition, parties and disputes; the perspectives of court users and judges on key features of these courts, their suitability for specific kinds of disputes and the handling of international commercial disputes in practice; the interface between International Commercial Courts and arbitration, in particular in jurisdictions with well-developed arbitration centres; and the ever more important question how these courts deal with global challenges such as Covid 19, Digitalisation & AI.

Event convened by Professor Eva Lein, University of Lausanne (UNIL) and Senior Research Fellow in Private International Law and Director, Centre for Comparative Law, BIICL and Xandra Kramer, Erasmus University of Rotterdam.

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Programme

09.00/9.15 Coffee/connecting online

9.30-9.45 Opening and Welcoming Remarks Xandra Kramer and Eva Lein

09:45-10.15 Keynote Speech Sir Geoffrey Vos, Master of the Rolls

10.15 - 11.30 Panel 1. Frameworks for International Commercial Courts

Chair: Xandra Kramer, Erasmus University Rotterdam/Utrecht University
Burkhard Hess, Director Max Planck Institute Luxembourg
Yip Man, Singapore Management University
Stefaan Voet, KU Leuven
Sandrine Giroud, Lalive Geneva

11:30 - 11:45 BREAK

11:45 -12:45 Panel 2. Practitioners' Perspective on International Commercial Courts

Chair: Chiann Bao, BIICL
Daniel Schimmel, Foley Hoag New York)
Anselmo Reyes, University of Hong Kong; Singapore International Commercial Court)
Barbara Rumora-Scheltema, Nauta Dutilh Amsterdam

12:45 - 13.45 LUNCH

13:45 - 14.45 Panel 3. The Interface between International Commercial Courts and Arbitration

Chair: Franco Ferrari, New York University
Georgia Antonopoulou, Erasmus University Rotterdam
Weixia Gu, University of Hong Kong
Sophie Nappert, 3VB
Barbara Dohmann QC, Blackstone Chambers

14.45 - 15.15 BREAK

15.15 - 16.30 Panel 4: ICCs and global challenges - Covid 19, Innovation, Digitalisation & AI

Chair: Eva Lein, University of Lausanne, BIICL
John Sorabji, University College London
Anna Nylund, Tromsö University
Erlis Themeli, Erasmus University Rotterdam

16:30 - 16.45 Concluding Remarks Eva Lein and Xandra Kramer

Panel Abstracts

Panel 1. Frameworks for International Commercial Courts

In this panel key stake-holders involved in the establishment of international commercial courts take a step back and aim at answering the fundamental question: What are the reasons behind the recent proliferation of international commercial courts around the globe? Speakers will also look at the international element that distinguishes ICCs from the ordinary courts and adds diversity in court, and discuss the international features of international commercial courts in terms of court language, judicial composition, parties and disputes.

Panel 2. Practitioners' Perspectives on International Commercial Courts

Practitioners that have appeared before an international commercial court will take the floor and share their experiences. They will explain the advantages of an international commercial court, report on the key features of these courts, their suitability for specific kinds of disputes and offer an insiders' perspective on the functioning of international commercial courts and their added value. Judges from key jurisdiction will give their views, too, and discuss the handling of international commercial disputes from their perspective.

Panel 3. The Interface between International Commercial Courts and Arbitration

International commercial courts and arbitration are often presented as partners, while at times as competitors. Panel 3 turns to the question whether the relationship between international commercial courts and arbitration is more cooperative or antagonistic. Representatives of international commercial courts and arbitration practitioners from jurisdictions with developed arbitration centres discuss how international commercial courts may complement arbitration and look at their distinctive or overlapping features.

Panel 4. International Commercial Courts and global challenges - Covid 19, Digitalisation & AI

This panel will assess whether ICCs are up to the challenges of current and future times. In how far are these Do they have the technology and flexibility to deal with litigation and what have been the effects of the pandemic on using technology? What are the experiences with technology, future perspectives, and can they face the challenges of AI?

CPD Information

This event offers the equivalent of 6 CPD hours.

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