EVOLUTION OR REVOLUTION: Have We Mastered

International Arbitration or Do We Need a New

Blueprint for the Future?

20th Anniversary Conference of the Master’s in International

Commercial Arbitration Law programme, Stockholm University

31 Aug – 1 Sept 2023, Stockholm | Sweden

CONFERENCE AGENDA
 CONFERENCE AGENDA
Thursday 31 August 2023
Location: Moderna Museet – Auditoriet

Time Event

2:00-2:15 pm Welcome remarks

2:15–2:35 pm Welcome Keynote Address

2:35–4:05 pm International Arbitration of Tomorrow: Meeting the

Demands of An Evolving World
To what extent can international arbitration
remain relevant in times of apparent
deglobalization, geopolitical shifts, and recent
crises? Do we have the right tools in the
international arbitration toolbox, or is it time to
devise novel ones to effectively resolve new types
of disputes?

4:05–4:30 pm Coffee Break

4:30–6:00 pm Rise of the Machines or Sleep Mode: Is

International Arbitration Ready for the Technology
Revolution?
Is international arbitration on the verge of getting
swept up into the technology revolution? Should
it? This panel will examine technological
advancements that international arbitration is or
should be using. It will also explore issues that an
overreliance on technology could bring, such as
ethics, access to justice, cybersecurity, business,
and personal data protection.

6:00-8:00 pm Cocktails
 Friday 1 September 2023
Location: Moderna Museet – Auditoriet

Time Event

9:00 - 9:05 am Welcome remarks

9:05 - 10:35 am Do Arbitral Institutions Need More Input from

Us?
Parties, counsels, and arbitrators often look
to arbitral institutions as leaders and agents
of change to confront new and existing
challenges in international arbitration. But
are they contributing to finding adequate
solutions? This panel will share experiences
and discuss what users of international
arbitration can and should be doing (or what
they should stop doing) to support the
institutions as they confront new and evolving
issues.

10:35-11:00 am Coffee Break

11:00–12:30 am Conflicts, Independence, Impartiality: Are the

Views on Conflicts Stale?
The UNCITRAL/ICSID Code of Conduct for
Arbitrators in International Investment
Dispute Resolution and the amendment
process of the IBA Guidelines on Conflicts of
Interest in International Arbitration suggest
that a revised approach conflicts is essential
for preserving the legitimacy of international
arbitration. Do arbitrators need to do more or
take different approaches to disclosures?
Should specific approaches be taken where
States or state entities, experts and third-
party funders appear in the arbitration
 proceedings? Are issue conflicts to be taken
seriously?

12:30 – 2:00 pm Lunch Break with Keynote Address

2:00 – 3:30 pm Identifying and Confronting the Challenges of

Corruption in Arbitration
What exactly are the “challenges” of
corruption in international arbitration? Are
they essentially the same challenges we have
faced over the past decades or are they
evolving? And do the traditional procedural
and substantive approaches to confront those
challenges still work? Is it time to go back to
the drawing board in an ever-changing world?

3:30 – 3:55 pm Coffee Break

3:55 – 5:25 pm Trusted Advisors Outside the Hearing Room

Effective dispute management may begin
before an arbitration is filed and requires
adapting in real-time throughout the dispute.
But do counsel too frequently default to “tried
and true methods”, or do they innovate as the
case demands to serve the commercial
objectives of the parties? This panel will
examine what in-house and external counsel
effectively do to manage a dispute and where
it is time for some new methods, considering
issues like dispute avoidance, time and cost
efficiency, settlement opportunities, business
relationships, and internal company
management.

5:25 – 5:30 pm Closing remarks

6:30 – 10:30 pm Gala Dinner at Vasa Museum