FICA Announces Contract to Provide Training to Western Balkans Countries

The Forum for International Conciliation and Arbitration (FICA) is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a contract to provide training in Investment law and Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) to Government officials and legal professionals from the Western Balkan countries of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. The project is sponsored by the German Centre for International Cooperation (GIZ).

The FICA team, which will be co-ordinated by Dr Rumiana Yotova, Lecturer in International Law at the University of Cambridge and Door Tenant at Thomas More Chambers, includes Kiran Gore, Professorial Lecturer in Law at The George Washington University Law School and Counsel in the Law Offices of Charles H. Camp. P. C. In Washington D.C., Alan Anderson PhD an attorney with an international practice in all aspects of dispute resolution and international arbitrator in Minneapolis USA who is also a Door Tenant with Littleton Chambers, Middle Temple and Ben Beaumont Barrister with an international practice in all aspects of dispute resolution and international arbitrator of Garden Court Chambers, Lincolns Inn.

 The first session of the programme begins in July with the second session in September.

 About FICA: Founded in 1996, FICA is a non-profit think tank committed to the advancement of national and trans-national dispute resolution. Since 2002, it has held Observer status at UNCITRAL – part of the UN. It has been particularly active in Working Group II (arbitration and conciliation/dispute settlement) and Working Group III (investor-State dispute settlement reform). This training contract arose out of FICA’s involvement with Working Group III. For further information about FICA, or to become a member, go to www.fica-disputeresolution.com.

 All enquiries: Robert Ashdown 0044(0)75 687 19008 

ELI & FICA Webinar Roundtable on the European Position with Respect to the Singapore Convention on Mediation

On 18 June FICA (Forum for International Conciliation and Arbitration) and the European Law Institute (ELI), held a Virtual Roundtable to discuss the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements resulting from Mediation (the ‘Singapore Convention’) which has not been signed by the EU or its Member States.

The panel members discussed what keeps the EU or its member states from signing the Singapore Convention on Mediation. The panel members reviewed the pertinent aspects of the Singapore Convention on Mediation to create awareness of the Convention and will debate the EU’s position.

A link to the Report is below:

http://www.ecdr.si/index.php?id=214

ELI (European Law Institute) & FICA Webinar Roundtable on the European Position with Respect to the Singapore Convention on Mediation

FICA (Forum for International Conciliation and Arbitration) and the European Law Institute, will be undertaking a Virtual Roundtable on 18 June 2021 at 11:00 – 13:00 CET Vienna time (17:00 -19:00 GMT+8 Singapore Time)

The United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements resulting from Mediation (the ‘Singapore Convention’) entered into force on 12 September 2020. However, the Convention has not been signed by the EU or its Member States. What keeps the EU or its member states from signing the Singapore Convention on Mediation?

Experts will discuss pertinent aspects of the Singapore Convention on Mediation to create awareness of the Convention and will debate the EU’s position.

11.00 (CET) Welcome by Sir Michael Burton, President of FICA and Ms. Katarina Kresal, co-chair of ELI hub in Slovenia, president of the European Centre for Dispute Resolution 11.05 (CET) Roundtable “The reflection process of the European Commission”

  • Is the accession to the Singapore Convention an exclusive jurisdiction of the EU or is it a shared competence of the EU and Member States?
  • To what extent would the Singapore Convention benefit EU stakeholders?
  • Developing mediation policies and practices in Europe.
  • The views of States that signed the Singapore Convention.

12.00 (CET) Break 12.05 (CET) Roundtable “What is the impact of the Singapore Convention on the EU laws and policies?”

  • Does the Singapore Convention interfere with the EU internal regulatory framework (as REIO)?
  • The role of the Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements 2005 or the Hague Judgments Convention 2019.

Panellists include:

  • Dr Nadja Alexander, Professor at Singapore Management University
  • Sir Michael Burton, President of FICA
  • Mr Gordon Humphreys, Chairperson at the European Union Intellectual Property Office’s Boards of Appeal, mediator in the EUIPO’s ADR service
  • Dr Catherine Kessedjian, former Deputy Secretary General of the Hague Conference on Private International Law & Professor emerita at University Panthéon-Assas Paris II
  • Ms Katarina Kresal, co-chair of ELI hub in Slovenia, president of the European Centre for Dispute Resolution
  • Ms Corinne Montineri, Senior Legal Officer, UN Office of Legal Affairs, UNCITRAL Secretariat
  • Dr hc Thomas Pfeiffer, Professor at Heidelberg University & Chair of the European Law Institute Special Interest Group on Dispute Resolution
  • Ms Natalie Morris-Sharma, former Chair of UNCITRAL Working group II which drafted the Singapore Convention & Deputy Senior State Counsel with Singapore’s Attorney-General Chambers
  • Dr Norel Rosner, Legal and Policy Officer, Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers, European Commission
  • Dr Rimantas Simaitis, Chairman of the CEPEJ-GT-MED
  • Ms Diana Wallis, Senior Lecturer at the University of Hull, former vice-president of the European Parliament
  • Mr Aleš Zalar, former Minister of Justice of Slovenia and current co-chair of ELI hub in Slovenia, will be moderating the roundtable.
  • Dr Herman Verbist, Vice-chairman of FICA, co-moderator (Q&A) Participants will be able to raise questions. Participation is free of charge.
    Participants will be able to raise questions. Participation is free of charge.
    Webinar Link
    DATE: Friday 18 June 2021 | 11:00 – 13:00 CET Vienna time (17:00 -19:00 GMT+8 Singapore Time)
    To access the webinar, please use this link: https://lnkd.in/dwdzuqp
    Please contact Herman Verbist at herman.verbist@everest-law.be if you have any questions.

Remaining the Dispute Resolution Epicentre: Is MED-ARB in Europe’s Future? By Matthew Finn

Matthew Finn of FICA has recently published an article in IBA Construction Law International (‘CLInt’) Journal, Volume 16, Issue 1 – March 2021 on:

“Remaining the dispute resolution epicentre: is Med-Arb in Europe’s future?”

A hybrid of mediation and arbitration known as Med-Arb is a less formal, more expedient alternative dispute resolution (ADR) process which can be more flexible when resolving disputes. Although rare in Europe, it is widely used in Asian jurisdictions. In order to remain at the forefront of international dispute resolution, Europe could consider the benefits of Med-Arb: namely, a swift and cost-effective resolution, avoiding more traditional costly and time-consuming processes such as litigation and arbitration. As we enter a period of economic downturn in Europe due to the Covid-19 pandemic, are hybrids that combine arbitration with mediation a better form of ADR?

https://www.ibanet.org/Publications/publications_construction_law_international.aspx

SUPPORT FOR THE PROPOSAL TO DISCUSS ADJUDICATION IN UNCITRAL WORKING GROUP II

Submitted to UNCITRAL Working Group II
by FICA (Forum for International Conciliation and Arbitration)
proposal for Model Law on Adjudication and
proposal for Explanatory Notes prepared by
DACABI (Dispute Avoidance, Conciliation and Adjudication Board Institute)

24 March 2021

A link to the Report is below:

International Commercial Contracts By Professor Petra Butler

FICA member Professor Petra Butler has edited International Commercial Contracts published by Oxford University Press. It is available to purchase from 10 July 2021 and can be ordered from Oxford University Press:

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/international-commercial-contracts-9780198809548?resultsPerPage=60&lang=en&cc=sa#

Drawing together all of the legal issues associated with drafting, negotiating and litigating or arbitrating commercial agreements, International Commercial Contracts: Law and Practice provides a comprehensive reference work of all these disparate areas.

The first part of the book sets out and analyses the substantive law that parties can choose to apply to contracts, as well as that which must be applied due to non-negotiable international law. This part includes coverage of contract, trade, insurance and financing law relevant to commercial contracts. There is also analysis and explanation of key specialist areas, including intellectual property, tax and competition law.

The book includes a key section on dispute resolution setting out the various mechanisms available to contracting parties, addressing litigation, mediation, arbitration, and class actions. The final parts cover negotiation, drafting and ethical issues associated with contracts.

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/international-commercial-contracts-9780198809548?resultsPerPage=60&lang=en&cc=sa