Paris Arbitration Week x Sciences Po Law School 2024

As an official partner of Paris Arbitration Week 2024, Sciences Po Law School has organized a series of three events that will reunite global practitioners to debate emerging topics in the sphere of transnational arbitration and dispute settlement:

Monday, 18 March, from 10:30 to 14:00

Brunch co-organized and hosted by Latham & Watkins - Should we challenge standard practices in international arbitration?

Participants will hear from two panels of industry experts as follows:

• Panel I – Opening and closing statements, are they really useful?

Moderator: Bruno Sousa Rodrigues
Panelists: Laura Fadlallah, Carmen Núñez-Lagos, José Manuel García Represa, and Mélanie Van Leeuwen.

• Panel II : The role of tribunal secretaries

Moderator: Esperanza Barron Baratech
Panelists: Arias Lim, Charlotte Matthews, Ernest Morales, and Aurélien Zuber.

Tuesday, 19 March, from 15:00 to 16:30

The Sciences Po Law School will host UNCITRAL's Dispute Resolution in the Digital Economy Initiative

UNCITRAL's project on the stock taking of developments in dispute resolution in the digital economy (DRDE) was launched in 2021, conferring on the secretariat the mandate to monitor the changing landscape of dispute resolution in the digital economy by compiling, analysing and sharing relevant information with a view to laying the groundwork for updating existing UNCITRAL texts or developing new ones if necessary. 

In July 2023, acknowledging the progress made by the project, the Commission requested the secretariat to put forward proposals for possible legislative work with a focus on the topics of the recognition and enforcement of electronic arbitral awards and electronic notices of arbitration and their service, as well as report on further progress overall.

The second edition of the DRDE roundtable discussion at Science Po Law School will feature the topics of electronic arbitral awards and recent developments in the use of artificial intelligence in arbitration.

Thursday, 21 March, from 15:30 to 19:00

The role of international arbitration in steering trade and economic development

Discussion with a panel of international practitioners, followed by a cocktail reception - together with the Young Romanian Arbitration Practitioners (YRAP) and Muşat & Asociaţii.

The event invites attendees to explore the correlation between a jurisdiction’s approach to arbitration and its effect on attracting foreign investors.

Statistics suggest that countries with arbitration-friendly policies see an increase in foreign investment and trade as a result. For example, ratifying the New York Convention has been found to increase a country’s foreign trade by about half as much as joining the World Trade Organization.

What are the present socio-economic advantages (or disadvantages) of an arbitration-friendly jurisdiction? Why is it important to be established as a 'safe' or popular seat of arbitration? What are the different challenges that jurisdictions face, from promoting alternative dispute resolution to maintaining their position and staying competitive?

To find out, we will connect with a panel bringing varied perspectives from several jurisdictions and reflecting on their experience to find and emphasize the connection between arbitration and international trade.

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