London International Disputes Week 2023

Following a fantastic week of thought-provoking discussions and debate amongst clients, peers, colleagues and friends, we reflect on London International Disputes Week 2023 and Clyde & Co’s continued involvement.

We were delighted to co-host this major collaborative event, bringing together the global disputes community to celebrate its enduring resilience over recent years and looking to the future of London as an international disputes hub. Participating in ten events, we covered keynotes and important and lively sessions, speaking on and moderating a broad range of topics.

The week started with International Arbitration Day, where Clyde & Co were involved with a number of events. Partner Professor Loukas Mistelis co-curated the day and delivered one of the keynote speeches, focusing on the Role of arbitration at times of crisis. Partners Nadia Darwazeh and Ben Knowles also participated in regional arbitration debates, with Nadia debating Shifting attitudes towards arbitration across Sub-Saharan Africa and Ben moderating the US disputes - arbitration in motion panel discussion which covered trends, issues, practices and observations on disputes relating to North America.

 On Wednesday, Clyde & Co hosted two events at our offices, the first, a panel discussion on Arbitration in Saudi Arabia & GCC: Emerging Trends hosted together with the Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration and Queen Mary University of London. The symposium explored the recent developments in the GCC ADR environment and the SCCA, followed by a round table discussion focused on insights from international practitioners' into arbitration in Saudi Arabia & GCC. 

For the afternoon session, Loukas Mistelis co-moderated The Evolving Role of Arbitral Institutions. The panel comprised of representatives from nine major international arbitration institutions (AAA-ICDR, CAM-CCBC, CRCICA, HKIAC, ICC, LCIA, SCC, SCCA, SIAC and IFCAI), where they each explored how the institutions contribute to policy and rulemaking, as well as what their role is in promoting efficiency, diversity and legitimacy.

Partner Maurice Kenton joined the panel for Mining in a Changing World: Adapting and Arbitrating for Success, discussing the growing importance of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors in the mining industry, addressing their financial implications and highlighted the need for responsible operations and the role of arbitration. 

In the evening, colleagues attended the LIDW 2023 Gala Dinner at the prestigious Dorchester Hotel, where speakers Sir Robin Knowles and Sharon Blackman OBE shared their thought-provoking experiences of pro bono services and highlighted the continued importance of access to justice through the provision.

On Thursday, Associate Leonor D’Albiousse joined the round table discussion on Today's Diverse and Rising Arbitrators and Where To Find Them, covering topics and themes they are dealing with in their work, including getting the appointments, difficult ethical issues, dealing with difficult parties, questions of costs, practical top tips.

Loukas Mistelis co-moderated two panel sessions, the first on Disputes Involving States Arising Out of War who considered how post war disputes will be resolved in a State-to-State and investor-State context; the implication of sanctions; war clauses in BITs and other mechanisms and disputes in English courts. The second on The future of Investor-State disputes in the energy sector: challenges and opportunities where a mixed panel composed of arbitrators, counsel, academics and a quantum expert discussed the current trends and future challenges within the energy sector.

Rounding off the week, Partner Richard Power joined the 2023 UNCITRAL Symposium on Climate Change, where they explored the intersection between international trade and investment law and implementing the Paris Agreement climate change mitigation, adaptation and resilience, in relation to Carbon markets, from Design & Implementation to Disputes.

We would like to thank all of those who co-hosted events with us, appeared as panellists and attended the week.

We greatly look forward to #LIDW24!

To find out more about our Disputes offering, click the link here https://www.clydeco.com/en/expertise/services/commercial-disputes