The International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA) held its 24th biannual congress against the spectacular backdrop of Sydney in the autumn between 15 and 18 April 2018. The theme of this Congress was Evolution and Adaptation: The Future of International Arbitration. I had planned my trip to Sydney more than a year in advance and was very much looking forward to my first ICCA Congress.
The opening ceremony at the iconic Sydney Opera House set the benchmark very high for the events which were to follow. The Congress had attracted some 860 delegates, including over 700 from over 60 jurisdictions outside Australia, some of whom had been in Sydney only six months previously for the International Bar Association (IBA) Conference. The delegate list in places read like a who’s who of international arbitration in the 21st century, and the sense of fraternity at all levels within international arbitration was palpable to see as very junior lawyers were able to meet and strike up conversations with some of the most eminent practitioners in the field today.
What struck me in particular about the Congress was the superb level of quality in all the substantive sessions I attended. Many of the panels debated some highly topical and at times controversial issues. It was very clear that care had gone into the choice of panel members, all of whom were very well qualified to speak on their particular topic.
Monday 16 April started with two breakfast sessions, one by the ICCA-ASIL Task Force on Damages and one hosted by Allens Linklaters, the topic of which was arbitration on major projects. There followed the usual welcomes and the keynote address, which on this occasion was given by The Honourable Chief Justice James Allsop AO, that emphasised Australia’s pro-arbitration credentials. The final plenary session addressed the current crisis of legitimacy in international arbitration, with a high level and high quality debate on the decentralised law-making function that international arbitration is increasingly taking on.
After lunch, during which a number of interesting TED style talks were given by senior figures in the international arbitration world, parallel breakout sessions were held. The first set of sessions dealt with the current challenges being faced by both investor treaty arbitration and commercial arbitration. Debates on the backlash against older style investment treaties and the interest of stakeholders in the system beyond the parties to the arbitration were particularly well received. The second set of sessions dealt with party autonomy in the choice of decision-makers and the realities of arbitration economics. The use and abuse of the party-appointment system in arbitration was a controversial topic which was considered at some length, as was the paradox of parties complaining about the costs of arbitration but continuing to arbitrate.
Tuesday 17 April similarly started with two breakfast sessions, one hosted by PRIME Finance and the Permanent Court of Arbitration and the other hosted by Dentons to launch the ICCA-Queen Mary Final Report on Third-Party Funding in International Arbitration. The latter was extremely well attended, to the point of there being standing room only, with those lucky enough to receive a hard copy of the Final Report feeling particularly fortunate. The day then continued with parallel breakout sessions. Topics included the greater participation of public entities in international arbitration, potential reform of conventional wisdom on procedure, the ongoing tension between confidentiality and transparency, lessons to be learned from other forms of dispute resolution, technology both as facilitator and disruptor, a hot topics session and (new for this Congress) a “New Voices” session, consisting of younger practitioners who debated a number of controversial topics, including, most interestingly and provocatively, one on inter-generational blame and praise.
Wednesday 18 April consisted of morning plenary sessions which had the future as their broad area of focus. Consideration was given to potential new types of claim that might lie ahead in international arbitration, and to the involvement of new participants and stakeholders in the international arbitration process, beyond states, foreign investors and parties. There followed a closing keynote address by the Honourable Thomas F Bathurst and an introduction to the 25th Congress, which will be held in Edinburgh in 2020. Young ICCA held a series of panel debates by young practitioners for those able to stay on in the afternoon.
The social events at ICCA Congresses are known to be excellent and this Congress was no exception. Many law firms held receptions, three of which were on a particularly large scale, namely the Herbert Smith Freehills event at the Australian National Maritime Museum, the Debevoise & Plimpton event at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, and the Shearman & Sterling after party following the Gala Dinner. Equality and diversity were also on the agenda, with both Arbitral Women and The Alliance for Equality in Dispute Resolution hosting events. Young ICCA also held a drinks reception, in collaboration with many other young practitioners’ groups, after its session.
For those able to attend, a follow-on event was held in Queenstown. The debate and the networking continued at the same high level, in a more intimate setting.
Professor Doug Jones AO and his team are to be congratulated for putting on such a great Congress. Brandon Malone and his team in Edinburgh will have a very tough act to follow in 2020. Anyone with an interest in international arbitration should put the dates of the 25th Congress, 10–13 May 2020, in their diary now. Having gone through the experience personally, I can honestly say that there is no conference quite like an ICCA Congress for practitioners in international arbitration.
