Take the next step in your career through Ciarb’s Diploma, which equips you with a solid understanding of the law and practice of international commercial arbitration. Led by Diploma Director Dr Crina Baltag FCIArb, a globally recognised arbitration and dispute resolution practitioner, delivered by highly experienced faculty and attended by candidates from around the world, the Diploma provides a unique opportunity for peer learning and networking.

The Diploma will prepare you to write an arbitral award that is compliant with the legal and procedural requirements of an enforceable award. After successfully passing all three parts of the Diploma assessments, including a dissertation and writing an award, you will be eligible to apply for a Peer Interview for Ciarb Fellowship (FCIArb).

Held annually each September, all seminars, workshops and lectures take place in the historic surroundings of Christ Church College, Oxford.

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For more detailed information, see the FAQs. 

Professor Assoc. Dr Crina Baltag FCIArb

Professor Assoc. Dr Crina Baltag FCIArb is a globally recognised arbitration and dispute resolution practitioner. She is also an attorney at law and an academic with over 20 years of extensive practice in international dispute resolution, private, and public international law.

Crina has been appointed as presiding, sole and co-arbitrator in numerous arbitrations under the rules of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC Arbitration Institute), the Finland Arbitration Institute (FAI), Vienna International Arbitral Centre (VIAC), and the Center for Arbitration and Mediation of the Chamber of Commerce Brazil-Canada (CAM-CCBC).

She has acted as expert and counsel in various international commercial and investment arbitrations. She has also practiced as counsel, specialising in commercial and disputes, focusing on construction, energy and natural resources projects, financial transactions, intellectual property, and foreign investments. Crina is the managing editor of Kluwer Arbitration Blog, and an Associate Professor of International Arbitration Law at Stockholm University.

Find out more about Dr Crina Baltag FCIArb in our Member Directory.

Part 1 Assessment: Law, Practice and Procedure of International Commercial Arbitration

Candidates submit two assignments (500 words) during the Diploma, a dissertation proposal (300 max) on an arbitration topic, including research question and potential literature list, and then a final dissertation (4,000 words) two months later. It is worth 80% of the overall mark. Candidates need to obtain 55% on each assignment to pass. Candidates who fail any assessments will be required to retake the assessment, and any failure to submit an assessment will result in a fail mark.

Part 2 Assessment: Law of Obligations

Candidates are required to demonstrate expertise on the common law and civil law of contract tort. Candidates must pass a multiple-choice online exemption test before commencing to the final assessment. Candidates will be given a reference workbook and a mock assessment before taking the test. Candidates will have 90 minutes to take the test, and the pass mark is 70%. Ciarb Fellows do not need to complete the exemption test.

Part 3 Assessment: Evidence and Award Writing of International Arbitration

Candidates are required to submit an award via LearnADR. The assessment is split into two stages. Stage one: The documents in the case are released via LearnADR 10 days before the assessment start date. They are sufficient to enable the candidate to review the nature of the case and the likely legal problems. Candidates should consider the recitals they intend to include and the relevant law. Stage One is released via LearnADR 10 days before the assessment start date. Stage two: This is the equivalent of the hearing stage, and includes an extract from the candidate’s (i.e. the arbitrator’s) notebook. This records the oral evidence and arguments the arbitrator has heard, as well as any other relevant documents. From the evidence, candidates must make their findings of fact. Different candidates will no doubt make different findings. When candidates have made their findings of fact, they can write the award. It must be a final award that reflects the issues that they decide. Stage two is released at 12pm noon GMT on the assessment start date via LearnADR. Stage 2 will be available for five days from the assessment start date. Within the five days, candidates have 48 consecutive hours from the time they access the stage 2 documents, to submit the award onto LearnADR. The length of the arbitral award is 10,000 words maximum.

Candidates will be marked on technical and judicial merit:

• Technical Merit: counts as 40% towards the overall mark.
• Judicial Merit: counts as 60% towards the overall mark.

Candidates must achieve 70% in both technical and judicial merit and 70% overall to pass this assessment. The detailed elements of each technical and judicial merits will be made available with Stage One. Results are sent to candidates 12 weeks from the deadline date of the submission.

The Diploma is suitable for individuals who are actively involved in or have experience of domestic or international arbitration, and for professionals with at least five years’ experience in a related field. 

To apply for this Diploma, share your up-to-date CV with us and we’ll get back to you. 

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