Summary: Practical Concerns in International Arbitration.

The conference was divided into three different panels. In the first one, Alfonso Gómez-Acebo, Franz Stirnimann and Sylvia Noury commented their own practical experience on independence and impartiality of arbitrators. In the second panel, Elena Gutiérrez, Counsel at the Madrid Court of Arbitration, and José Ricardo Feris, Counsel at the ICC International Court of Arbitration, discussed the following issues from the perspective of their respective institutions: challenge of arbitrators, appointment of young arbitrators, and delay to render arbitral awards. Finally, the third panel was addressed in the form of a Q&A session, during which the participants asked the audience questions about disruptive behaviours in international arbitration such as, for instance, the degree of leadership expected from the arbitrators facing the parties’ obstructionist attitudes and the role of arbitral institutions in this regard.

This conference was not only a good forum to discuss and learn more about international arbitration, it was as well a chance for participants to mingle during a welcome dinner held the night before the conference and a cocktail following the event.