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AIJA International Arbitration Newsletter #44
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AIJA International Arbitration
Newsletter No.44, August 2016

Dear <<First Name>>

While we are still enjoying relaxing and sunny summer days the Annual Congress, which will take place on 23 – 27 August in Munich, is approaching fast. We are very excited about it as the promises of it being another magnificent event are high. Our commission will contribute to the scientific program even with two sessions.
 
First, there will be a joint working session with the Energy Law Commission on “Arbitrating Energy Disputes: Hot Topics” and will take place on Wednesday morning between 9 am and 12 am. Thanks to our General Reporters Lucy Gordon, Catrice Gayer and Marc Krestin, we are sure this will be a brilliant session. Second, we will have a joint working session with the Litigation Commission, taking place on Thursday morning between 9 am and 12 am on “Cultural Differences in Mediation – Hot Tips and Practical Lessons”. We thank Eleni Polycarpou, Michael Pauli and Rim Ben Ammar for their efforts and anticipate this also to be a magnificent opportunity to learn more about Mediation.
 
Moreover, be sure not to miss out on our Commission Meeting, which will take place on Wednesday, 24 August, at 4 pm in Munich. Please join us and use it as another opportunity to get involved!
 
Looking back a bit we can report of a perfectly organized Seminar on Advocacy in London this past June, which was of very high educational value to the participants and in addition provided a delightful social program. Thanks to the OC and above all to its chair Richard Samuel for their efforts put into this.
 
Shortly after Munich, our Commission’s main event will come up soon. This year’s Annual Arbitration Conference will be hosted by no other than New York! The program promises an outstanding event, be it on the scientific part or on the social part, which will allow you to truly explore and discover the Big Apple. The program is ready and registration is open and waiting for each one of you to register soon! The Conference will take place on 6 – 8 October. So fix the date and don’t wait and dream but make sure not to miss out on this perfect occasion to get to New York.
 
Also, we are saddened to hear that our newsletter editor, Linn Sundqvist, is heading for new challenges and will, thus, step down as an editor. We warmly thank Linn for all her efforts and wish her all the best for the future. In any case, this means that if anyone of you is interested in becoming a newsletter editor, please do not hesitate contacting us.
 
Last but not least, let me make a personal remark: I will step down from my position as President of the International Arbitration Commission in Munich. Being able to look back to so many wonderful years of being involved in this Commission (first as General Reporter and newsletter editor, than as Vice President and now as President) it is time to let the floor to new spirits, ideas and the enthusiasm of my successor and the Vice-Presidents. I very much enjoyed being able to participate in the organization of so many events and being able to contribute to the continuation of the success of this wonderful Commission. But above all this is the place and time to thank all of you, our members, for your involvement, your hard work and great ideas which were and are still key to the thriving of our Commission. Of course a very special thanks goes to the Vice-Presidents Tero and Hagit and the newsletter editor Ruggero. We made up a great team and you were of very valuable support to me and made great contributions to this Commission. Tero, I wish you good luck for the election as the new President and I am sure you will make a terrific President and continue with our tradition of being a successful Commission with plenty of interesting events.
 
We are looking forward to seeing you all in Munich or soon thereafter.
 
Best regards,
 
Pascale, together with Tero and Hagit
President
Pascale Gola
Ruoss Vögele
Kreuzstrasse 54
CH-8052 Zürich
Tel  +41 44 250 43 00
Fax +41 44 250 43 10
gola@ruossvoegele.ch
Vice-President
Tero Kovanen
Borenius Attorneys Ltd.
Eteläesplanadi 2, FI-00130 Helsinki, Finland
Tel +358 20 713 3276
Fax +358 20 713 3499
tero.kovanen@borenius.com
Vice-President
Hagit Elul
Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP
One Battery Park Plaza
New York, New York 10004 USA
Tel +1 212 8376969
Fax +1 212 2996969
elul@hugheshubbard.com
Communication Officer
Ruggero Rubino Sammartano
LawFed BRSA
Viale Cassiodoro, 3
I-20145 Milano
Tel +39 - 02 77 07 5500
Fax +39 - 02 77 07 5577
ruggero.rubino.brsa@lawfed.com
IN THIS ISSUE

Highlights

  • AIJA 54th Annual congress in Munich 23 -27 August 2016 Event page.
  • Check out the minutes of our Commission meeting held in Chicago on May 20, 2016.
  • Call notice of the meeting of our commission on August 24 2016, 4 pm, Hilton Park Hotel, Munich.

Upcoming commission events


2016
Upcoming Events in International Arbitration for Young Practitioners

2016
  • Sep 8 - Zurich - ICC & YAF organise a seminar on Tribunal-assisted settlement agreements - See Event Programme
  • November 18 – Zurich – ASA Fall Seminar
10 Shots

A new window to learn more about international arbitration and arbitrators

Xavier Favre-Bulle is a very well-known Arbitrator, with a long track record of arbitral proceedings as arbitrator and Counsel.

Sole Arbitrator or a Panel?
Both equally. Working alone has advantages (e.g. no time spent on administrative communications with co-arbitrators for the day-to-day handling), while exchanging thoughts with colleagues may be very helpful when confronted with complex issues.

Ad Hoc or Administered Arbitration?
I like the safety net of an efficient arbitration institution. A credible alternative to avoid gaps inherent to ad hoc arbitration are the UNCITRAL Rules.

Fast Track or more time to assess?
Unless there is true urgency (interim measures), a sound decision deserves that sufficient time is dedicated to all relevant issues.

Expensive or affordable arbitration?
Arbitration has certainly become too expensive. While complex disputes have necessarily a cost, there is room for affordable arbitration for smaller cases. One should be able to make it simple for what does not appear particularly complicated.

Favorite venue?
Geneva (my city) is not bad. Switzerland is undoubtedly an excellent arbitration-friendly country. I also like Paris, London, Singapore … and many others.

Waiver of responsibility for an arbitrator, yes or no?
Not a must. Possibly, to “excuse” minor mistakes, as would be the case for judges. Certainly not for gross negligence (which would anyway be invalid in most places).

Partial award, favorable or not?
When it really helps, yes, and with the parties’ agreement. A number of proceedings are bifurcated, with partial awards being made, while the complexity thereby created has adverse consequences in terms of time and cost.

What do you remember of your first experience as arbitrator?
An Egyptian respondent did not participate. I managed to find telephone/fax numbers that the arbitration institution did not even have. I convinced the respondent to appear. The parties reached a settlement (with payments to be made over several years, during which I was asked to keep my position as sole arbitrator).

A funny anecdote
Counsel requesting that the beneficial owner of the claimant should be heard as the main witness, but anonymously (as Mr K.), hiding behind a folding screen. We declined… 

One thing you would change in the arbitral practice.
Simplify the proceedings: keep document production within reasonable limits (e.g. avoid systematic resort to a phase of “Redfern Schedules”); have the right number of submissions (not too many) and the appropriate length of the hearing (not to long); limit the award to what is really useful for the parties (i.e. the facts and reasons, not an overly lengthy description of the proceedings and the parties’ respective positions).

A special thanks goes to Xavier Favre-Bulle, who accepted to delight in our 10 Shots.
A note from the Communication Officer

The Place to Write
Please let us know if you would like to provide a short career tip for the newsletter – it is always very much appreciated!

Moreover, if you have recently published any articles related to international arbitration or are scheduled to give a lecture on a particular issue in international arbitration in the upcoming months, we would be delighted to include this information (with links to the relevant website, if applicable) in our next newsletter. In the case of publications, we would also be happy to include an abstract.

Ruggero
 
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