CIArb measures costs of international arbitration at major conference
CIArb News / 25 July 2011
Experts in the field of international arbitration from across the world and from sectors including oil and gas, commercial, construction and maritime will join forces to explore ways of reducing the costs of international arbitration at a major conference in September organised by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb).
Sponsored by Alvarez & Marsal, the two-day conference in London on 27-28 September will carry out an examination of the distribution of the costs of commercial arbitration to provide vital information for legal representatives, commercial directors and arbitrators.
The discussion will be informed by the results of CIArb's survey, which has collected detailed data from practising arbitrators and lawyers worldwide on the costs of around 250 international arbitrations under different rules and jurisdictions.
An array of distinguished speakers will contribute to the debate, including Doug Jones (President of CIArb); Peter J. Rees (Royal Dutch Shell plc); David Brynmor Thomas (39 Essex Street); Teresa Giovannini (LALIVE) and Constantine Partasides (Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP).
Internationally renowned barrister and former Lord Chancellor the Rt Hon the Lord Falconer of Thoroton QC will be the guest speaker at the conference dinner, while the Hon Mr Justice David Steel of the Commercial Court will be the lunchtime speaker.
With the number of international commercial arbitrations rising year-on-year, commercial directors and legal counsel need to be well informed about the costs of the process and their relationship to outcomes. However, as arbitral awards are not published there is little or no information available on the costs involved. CIArb's Costs of International Arbitration Conference aims to fill this gap, providing primary data from arbitration practitioners together with expert commentary and opinion.
Doug Jones AM FCIArb, President of CIArb said: "In the present economic climate, parties and their legal advisers are under pressure to reduce costs and, understandably, they are asking where they can make savings.
The CIArb survey and conference should provide much-needed comparative data and expert analysis on the cost of international arbitration in different sectors, seats and arbitral institutions, analysing precisely where and how costs are incurred to enable parties and legal advisors to make informed decisions to control costs."
Peter J. Rees, QC FCIArb, Legal Director of Royal Dutch Shell plc and Costs Conference speaker said: "The cost of international arbitration is a growing area of concern within the international legal and business communities. CIArb's Costs of International Arbitration conference offers an invaluable opportunity to learn from experts from a wide range of sectors who can share vital knowledge and experience. We hope that joining this debate will help to restore speed and cost-effectiveness to the international arbitration process."
The two-day conference will analyse current problems from the perspective of several commercial sectors including oil and gas, construction, engineering, maritime, IT, aviation, and finance, and practitioners including lawyers, arbitrators, mediators and experts. It will explore how to solve the problems and control costs at each stage of an international arbitration from pre-hearing through to the hearing and finally the award. To find out more, download the full conference programme.
The conference is open to anybody interested in reducing the costs of international arbitration, including commercial directors and managers, in-house counsel, lawyers, arbitrators, experts, arbitral institutions, finance directors and financial advisors, policy-makers, advisers to Governments, and NGOs. The conference format will be lively and interactive with plenty of time for discussion and networking.
CIArb's Costs of International Arbitration Conference takes place at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel, South Kensington, London, UK, on Tuesday 27 - Wednesday 28 September 2011. For more information or to book a place visit www.ciarb.org/conferences/costs