AIJA International Arbitration
Newsletter No.36, May 2014

Dear Friends,
 
The successful seminar held in Hong Kong in March is already well behind us and our heads turn next to the Half-Year Conference in Zurich which starts today. After Zurich, the stage is set for our Commission’s main event of the year, the Annual Arbitration Conference in Vienna.
 
But first, a short recap of the Hong Kong event. The seminar focused on resolving the question “Is China Different?” when it comes to arbitration. We had the pleasure of learning from many top-level arbitrators and counsels about traditions, problems and trends relating to arbitration in China. Also, our special thanks go out to the local arbitration institutions, HKIAC and CIETAC, whose support was a key in making the event even more interesting and successful. Last, we had a traditional Chinese banquet to end the event which will surely be remembered as one of the most delicious closing dinners ever.
 
Today we will kick-start the Half-Year Conference in Zurich. The Half-Year Conference is the place to be for anybody wishing to learn if arbitration and banking related disputes is a match made in heaven. After the Commission’s workshop, we will have the Commission meeting at two o’clock on Friday. As always, the Commission meeting is your chance to get involved and we look forward to receiving many new ideas for future events, feedback on past events and also general ideas on how to improve. All suggestions are guaranteed to be met with enthusiasm!
 
At the beginning of June, the first half of the year will culminate in the Annual Arbitration Conference in the beautiful and summery Vienna. As in previous years, the first day of the Conference will be dedicated to interactive workshops dealing with evidentiary issues as well as use of new technology in arbitration. The second day will feature the “How to series”. In this year’s series, we will focus on the fundamentals of building a winning case and drafting convincing written pleadings.           
 
As the cherry on top, we have an explicit guarantee from the Organizing Committee that the social program will meet even the highest expectations. The social program will also offer all-important opportunities to mingle and make connections with colleagues from all over the world. 
 
The next couple of months are bursting with interesting events. Be sure to book your place now in order to not miss out on these highlights of the year!
 
Best regards,
 
Pascale, Michelangelo, Tero