Events
The Review of the Arbitration Act 1996: Public consultation event with Law Commission
This public consultation event provides a unique opportunity to discuss the UK Law Commission’s preliminary findings in its ongoing consultation on the review of the Arbitration Act 1996, which closes on 15 December 2022. This event is co-hosted by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Ciarb) and the Law Commission.
The Act provides the legal framework for arbitration in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and has been used to inform legislation in many jurisdictions around the world.
The proposals contained in the consultation, seek to modernise the legislation whilst maintaining high standards and a reliable framework for successful arbitrations. Ciarb has made significant contributions to the review since it was launched last year. Following input from stakeholders, the Law Commission has made a provisional assessment that major reform is not necessary. However, there are specific areas that the Law Commission propose be examined in greater detail. Read our summary of these areas.
Join the panellists, as they discuss the topics covered in the review from a variety of perspectives.
This event will start at 17.30 GMT, please check your local time zone. Questions will be taken in person and via livestream chat.
The in-person event will be followed by a networking reception.
Registration:
ONLINE attendance is free of charge, pre-registration is required.
IN-PERSON attendance is at 12 Bloomsbury Square, London. In-person tickets are now sold out, join the waiting list in the event of cancellations.
Consultation details
The UK Government asked the Law Commission to review the Act, to determine whether there might be any amendments to the Act, to ensure that it is fit for purpose and that it continues to promote the UK as a leading destination for commercial arbitrations. The Law Commission has prepared a consultation paper, which is based on conversations with a wide range of stakeholders and on its own research into the provisions of the Act.
The consultation closes on 15 December 2022.
More about the consultation and the consultation paper can be found here.
Event Speakers
Stavros is a Professor at Queen Mary University of London and an arbitrator practising at 3 Verulam Buildings (Gray’s Inn). He has been involved in international arbitration for more than 20 years and is widely recognised as a leading authority in the field of international arbitration. He is regularly listed in Who’s Who Legal: Arbitration, Who’s Who Legal: Construction and Who’s Who Legal: Thought Leader. In 2022, he was included in the Legal 500 Arbitration Power List and was ranked as a Global Elite Thought Leader and one of the 25 most highly regarded arbitrators in the EMEA region. He has been shortlisted twice in the past for the Global Arbitration Review Best Prepared and Most Responsive Arbitrator Award and received the 2020 GAR Award for Best Public Speech. Stavros is also widely regarded as a leading academic in the field of international law and arbitration and has been invited to give the prestigious Summer Course on Private International Law at the Hague Academy of International Law in 2026.
Professor Green was appointed as Law Commissioner for Commercial and Common law on 01 January 2020. She was previously Professor of Private Law at the University of Bristol. Prior to that, she was Professor of the Law of Obligations at the University of Oxford, having been a lecturer at the University of Birmingham from 2001 – 2010. Before embarking on her academic career, she was a software consultant at Accenture. Professor Green has written books and articles on a variety of issues including virtual currencies, blockchain issues surrounding intermediated securities, smart contracts, sale of goods law as applicable to digitised assets, negligence and wage theft.
Julian is a full-time arbitrator in international commercial and investment disputes. He has been involved with international arbitration for more than 40 years as an academic, counsel and arbitrator. Julian has been appointed as a sole, presiding and co-arbitrator in arbitrations under the rules of all the major arbitral institutions and under UNCITRAL and Swiss Chambers’ Arbitration Institution rules.
Professional expertise includes international transactions affecting investments, purchase and sale of corporate entities and assets, joint ventures, oil and gas exploration, development and production agreements, research and development and promotions of pharmaceutical and chemical products, mining and concession arrangements, distribution, agency, licensing contracts, infrastructure and construction projects, international trade finance, trading arrangements with developing countries, EC law and arbitration arising out of all such transactions.
He is Professor of International Arbitration and Head of the School of International Arbitration, Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary University of London. He has held these positions since the School’s creation in 1985.
Wendy is a specialist in international arbitration and dispute resolution with a focus on private and public international law. She sits as arbitrator and counsel in international arbitration and counsel in related proceedings in the English courts. In the field of climate change, her focus is mitigation and adaptation challenges, in particular those arising out of existing private contractual, domestic law and private international law frameworks. Wendy advises investors and states in respect of climate opportunities and risk in the context of cross-border investment and aligning finance flows with the Paris Agreement goals. She also works closely with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and has represented it at the Conferences of the Parties on climate since 2015. She currently co-chairs the ICC Working Group on Carbon Pricing Mechanisms.
Mercy McBrayer is CIArb’s Head of Arbitration Professional Practice. Mercy is a United States qualified attorney (Texas) and certified mediator with experience as party counsel in commercial business litigation and arbitration. She holds a Master of Laws (LLM) in comparative and international dispute resolution from Queen Mary University of London, a Juris Doctorate (JD) from Southern Methodist University, and a Master of Science (MSc) in environmental biology from the University of North Texas. Mercy is also a graduate of CIArb’s Post-Graduate Diploma programme in international commercial arbitration (PGDip). Mercy trained in international commercial arbitration with Al Tamimi and Co. in Dubai, UAE, and was an associate with Blume, Faulkner, and Skeen in Dallas, Texas, before joining the CIArb Executive in 2018. Mercy is CIArb’s observer delegate to UNCITRAL Working Groups II and III and curator of CIArb’s professional practice guidelines. She is an assistant editor of the CIArb Journal, a Teaching Fellow in international arbitration at Queen Mary University of London, a speaker and lecturer on issues of international arbitration and ADR, and moot coach. Mercy is a US citizen who grew up in Nairobi, Kenya and is based in London, UK.
Jonathan Wood is an arbitrator and seasoned dispute resolver with over 45 years of experience. He is Chair of Ciarb’s Board of Trustees, Chair of the London Chamber of Arbitration and Mediation and Director of Legal UK