We at Business BVI are pleased to convene the 3rd BVI International Arbitration Conference, in partnership with the BVI International Arbitration Centre, from 18 to 22 November, 2019, under the theme Arbitration 2.0. The main conference will take place from Thursday the 21st to midday Friday the 22nd, with side events and lectures throughout the week.
Less than ten years ago, the BVI embarked on the journey to develop as an international arbitration jurisdiction, in that short span of time, it:
The above, together with the globally respected quality of the BVI legal framework and a stable political environment have positioned the territory to become a leading arbitration hub across the Americas and the Caribbean.
Appropriately, the conference programme, under the theme “Arbitration 2.0,” will explore how arbitration has “come of age,” and not just in the BVI. Shifting legislation, rules and practices and an ever-more-diverse roster of players must constantly adapt to the new realities of a changed landscape, both in our region and across the globe. For its international roster of attendees, Arbitration Week 2019 in the BVI will offer a kaleidoscope of networking opportunities, including lectures and presentations from an esteemed international cohort of speakers, daily social events and even a post-conference Friday afternoon day sail to experience all the beauty and excitement the Yachting Capital of the Caribbean has to offer. Delegates to the Conference will have the opportunity to join ancillary events such as CIArb or Arbitral Women trainings and workshops to further sharpen their skills and prepare for the challenges of Arbitration 2.0.
Mr. Pearsall is partner and chair of the Public International Law practice at Washington, DC-based Jenner & Block. He has over 15 years of experience representing parties in complex international disputes and served in the US State Department from 2009-2017. He was the chief of investment arbitration from 2015 onward under President Obama and President Trump. He has arbitrated claims involving billions of dollars on behalf of the United States, other sovereign states and private investors in both commercial arbitration and investment arbitration.
The panel discusses the role of arbitration in relation to the Belt and Road initiative. This initiative from China involves infrastructure and risk on an unprecedented scale. The Belt and Road initiative will generate complex, cross-border disputes and force investors and lawyers to look closely at how to respond to a fast-changing landscape across Asia and beyond. This panel will discuss the risks associated with Belt and Road investments with a focus on energy, infrastructure and construction disputes, and will evaluate the available fora and mechanisms for resolving those disputes.
Will the rise of nationalist sentiments affect how businesses resolve cross-border disputes? Will the relationship between national courts and arbitral tribunals be affected? How might anti-globalism affect the competition among venues positioning themselves as cosmopolitan and friendly to international arbitration?
This plenary will discuss emerging new types of claims in international arbitration. Such claims are starting to arise under international, national or regional laws. Globalisation and the increasingly transboundary nature of many transactions under different legal systems is creating a caseload of new claims, pushing arbitration to adapt.
This panel will explore how arbitration in the future might become a forum for resolving disputes under new international and national laws, international policy and emerging norms on climate change, corruption, human rights, labour laws, health and safety, protection of indigenous peoples and other affected populations and environmental and climate change commitments.
(Examples: Climate change-related arbitrations, South China Sea, Bangladesh, human rights in the Amazon, etc.)
Off the back of hacking threats, a conversation on cybersecurity and FinTech and how arbitration can remain relevant in this new technological age.
This plenary will discuss whether the current architecture is sufficiently robust to ensure the required integrity and ethics in international arbitration proceedings. A discussion about the issue of conflicts of interest or codes of conduct and how they are handled in international arbitration by various stakeholders including counsel, arbitrators, parties and experts. In particular, it will try to answer the question: does more need to be done to safeguard the arbitration framework from such violations?
Arbitration in the Americas is fast-changing: this plenary will discuss the changing legal landscape including recent legislative changes (e.g. California), noteworthy case law and investor-state dispute resolution reform and implications.
For students and CIArb Attendees, Arbitral Women and BVI Arbitration Group members discounts, please contact Claire Shefchik at c.shefchik@oysterbvi.com
To find out available sponsorship opportunities please email c.shefchik@oysterbvi.com