PCA Participation in ICCA Sydney Congress 2018

The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) was pleased to participate in the 24^th Congress of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA), which took place in Sydney, Australia from 15-17 April.

Over 930 delegates from arbitral institutions, governments, courts, private practice, academia and civil society around the world gathered in Sydney for high-calibre discussions on the theme of “Evolution and Adaptation: The Future of International Arbitration”.

The PCA’s Secretary-General, Hugo Siblesz, and other members of the International Bureau participated in the Congress and associated events:

• PCA Senior Legal Counsel, Judith Levine, spoke at the Congress on the “Hot Topics” Panel on 17 April 2018 covering topics of unlawfully obtained evidence, parallel proceedings with a criminal element, China’s Belt & Road Initiative, and international arbitration and labour disputes. Judith was also a member of the Honorary Host Committee and an ICCA 2018 Ambassador.  She will also be presenting on climate change-related disputes at the AMINZ-ICCA International Arbitration Day to be held in Queenstown, New Zealand on 20 April 2018.

• PCA Senior Legal Counsel and Singapore representative, Fedelma Claire Smith, presented at a breakfast hosted by P.R.I.M.E Finance and the Permanent Court of Arbitration on 17 April 2018 on the topic of “The reluctance of financial institutions to use international arbitration. Is the tide turning?”  Fedelma also presented at the Asia-Pacific Forum for International Arbitration symposium on “Efficiency and Economy in International Arbitration – Are we moving in the right direction?” held on 13 April 2018.

• PCA Legal Counsel and Mauritius Representative, Túlio Di Giacomo Toledo, attended the Pre-ICCA Conference in Perth on 13 April 2018 organized by the Perth Centre for Energy and Resources Arbitration and the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration.

• PCA Senior Legal Counsel and Executive Director of ICCA Lise Bosman, along with PCA Legal Counsel and Deputy Executive Director of ICCA, Lisa Bingham, were both extensively involved in the organisation of the Congress and the preparation of work by the ICCA Third Party Funding Taskforce and the ICCA Damages Taskforce.

• Pursuant to the PCA’s cooperation agreement signed with the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration during the ICCA Congress in Rio de Janeiro in 2010, the PCA organized a meeting of an international arbitral tribunal in a PCA-administered dispute in the week preceding the conference.

 

Since 1989, ICCA and the PCA have collaborated closely, including through the provision of editorial staff for production of leading academic publications in the field of arbitration. ICCA is a non-governmental organisation that promotes and develops arbitration, conciliation and other forms of international dispute resolution. The biennial ICCA Congress is the largest and most prestigious regular gathering of dispute-resolution specialists worldwide.