Overview
The ITA Workshop and Annual Meeting is widely recognized as the leading conference in the field in the United States. The theme of the Workshop in June 2024 will be Global Perspectives on Due Process in International Arbitration. Make your plans now to join us, our renowned faculty, members of the ITA community and other colleagues from around the globe for what is sure to be an important set of discussions and a memorable experience for all attendees!
Workshop Co-Chairs
Herbert Smith Freehills
London, UK
White & Case S.A.
Geneva, Switzerland
Pepperdine University
Malibu, California
Schedule and Faculty
Introduction to the Workshop
Due process is the heart and soul of international arbitration. The expectation of a fair process provides the foundation for modern policies favoring the enforcement of arbitration agreements. Violations of due process justify set-aside of awards at the seat and refusal to enforce in other jurisdictions.
But most national arbitration laws and institutional rules are vague on the elements of due process. National courts approach the question of due process from their own national perspectives, which may differ from the perspectives of counsel and arbitrators who conducted the proceedings. Different and conflicting approaches are likely to create problems, and this serves as a trenchant reminder of the importance of the seat in international arbitration.
The 36th Annual ITA Workshop will address the elements of due process in international arbitration and the differing approaches of various national courts. It will also explore potential differences between the perspectives of national courts and prevailing understandings of best practices within the arbitration bar, as well as the possibility that understandings of best practices might differ in commercial, investment treaty, and inter-State arbitration.
Wednesday, June 19
2:30 pm - 3:30 pm - Registration
3:30 pm - 3:40 pm - Welcome to the Workshop
- Tomasz J. Sikora, Chair, ITA Advisory Board, Senior Counsel International Disputes, Houston
YOUNG ITA ROUNDTABLE
Presented by Young ITA
3:40 pm - Welcome to the Roundtable
- Karima Sauma, Chair, Young ITA, DJ Arbitraje, San José, Costa Rica
3:40 pm - 4:35 pm - Lifting the Veil on Arbitrator Deliberations: A Mock Hearing on Disclosure Obligations
Our first Young ITA panel will host a live, mock hearing with submissions by Rob Bradshaw and Julianne Jaquith as to why their client’s position on an extension of the timetable should be taken and the due process issues arising out of that. Our esteemed tribunal will have a live deliberation, lifting the veil on how decisions might be made, and make a determination on the issues. We look forward to engaging arguments from all sides and a real insight into tribunal deliberations.
Tribunal Members:
- Dr. Kabir Duggal, Arnold & Porter/Columbia Law School, New York
- Myriam Seers, Agora, Toronto, Canada
- Alexander Slade, Mantle Law, London, UK
Counsel:
- Robert Bradshaw, Lalive, London, UK
- Julianne Jaquith, Quinn Emmanuel, Houston, TX /Washington, D.C.
4:35 pm – 5:25 pm - Due Process Challenges: Has it all gone too far for procedural fairness in international arbitration?
Our second Young ITA panel will provide a quick fire, lively debate as to the benefits of, and concerns with, the approach to due process challenges in international arbitration, including the considerations of efficiency and procedural fairness.
Moderator: Karima Sauma, DJ Arbitraje, San José, Costa Rica
Panelists:
- Ruediger Morbach, King & Spalding, Frankfurt, Germany
- Ricardo Chirinos, Covington & Burling LLP, Washington, D.C.
5:25 pm - 5:30 pm - Day 1 Closing Remarks
5:30 pm - 6:30 pm - Workshop Welcome Reception
Omni Austin Hotel Downtown
6:30 pm - 8:00 pm - Workshop Dinner (optional) - SOLD OUT
Quince Lakehouse, 3825 Lake Austin Blvd #201, Austin, Texas
Please indicate on the registration form if you wish to attend – ticket price: $125 per person.
Thursday, June 20
8:00 am - Registration and Continental Breakfast
9:00 am - Welcome Back
- Tom Sikora, Chair, ITA Advisory Board, Chair, Senior Counsel International Disputes, Exxon Mobil Corporation, Houston, TX, USA
9:10 am - Introduction to the Program
- Christian Leathley, Workshop Co-Chair, Herbert Smith Freehills, London, UK
- Anne Véronique Schlaepfer, Workshop Co-Chair, White & Case, Geneva, Switzerland
9:15 am – 10:15 am - The Parameters of Due Process - What are the Defining Influences on Due Process?
This inaugural panel will set the stage for our exploration of due process issues with an engaging overview of "due process" issues by grappling with scenarios highlighting the practices and perspectives of courts, arbitrators, and counsel against the backdrop of a variety of norms and influences. These include national laws / traditions / cultures (common law, civil law, Sharia, etc.), arbitration agreements (including one-off drafting), institutional rules, and soft law.
Moderator: Prof. Tom Stipanowich, Pepperdine University, Malibu, CA, USA
Panelists:
- Laura Abrahamson, JAMS, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Sarah Aranjo, Morgan Lewis, Dubai, UAE
- Prof. Jack Coe, Pepperdine University, Malibu, CA, USA
- Prof. Loukas Mistelis, Clyde & Co, London, UK
10:20 am – 11:20 am - Who Stays on the Island? Separating Reality and Hyperbole in Managing Due Process Challenges
While discussing hypothetical scenarios in which the panelists and audience, through interaction, this panel will explore the boundaries of due process considerations. When do choices about limitations on pleadings or testimony, or on the scope of document production and privileges, or perspectives on arbitral independence, implicate due process? So, how bad does something have to be to violate standards of due process? The islanders are from different jurisdictions. In the rounds that take place during this session, each will be asked to describe a scenario that occurs during an arbitration, and the audience will have to vote – using their phones and the conference App – to identify which scenario constitutes a violation of due process.
Moderator: Christian Leathley, Herbert Smith Freehills, London, UK
Panelists:
- Jeffrey Benz, JAMS, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Elena Guttiérrez, EG Arbitration, Paris, France
- Dr. Elina Mereminskaya, Wagemann Arbitration, Santiago de Chile, Chile
- Noradele Radjai, LALIVE, Geneva, Switzerland
11:25 am - Coffee Break
11:40 am – 12:40 pm - The Right to be Heard: A Balancing Act?
This session will feature the discussion as to how an access to evidence, constraints on presentation, and necessarily limited time and resources relate to arbitrators’ mandate to seek the truth and parties’ right to be heard.
Moderator: Anne Véronique Schlaepfer, White & Case, Geneva, Switzerland
Panelists:
- Rachael D. Kent, WilmerHale, Washington, D.C.
- James Loftis, Vinson & Elkins, Houston, TX, USA
- Dr. Anke Meier, Noerr, Frankfurt, Germany
- Prof. Christophe Seraglini, Freshfields, Paris, France
12:45 pm - Workshop Luncheon
A Conversation with
Jan Paulsson
Professor Emeritus, University of Miami
Interviewed by
Elizabeth Silbert
King & Spalding, Atlanta, Georgia
This interview is the latest in a series organized by the ITA Academic Council to record the evolution of modern international arbitration in the words of those who have led it.
2:15 pm – 3:15 pm - Due Process and Witness and the Role of Evidence
This Workshop Panel will look at potential due process concerns arising from the nature of evidence presented in arbitrations, including documentary evidence (or lack thereof), witness testimony, and the prevalence of expert testimony on a range of topics. What factors should parties and arbitrators take into account when assessing what due process demands of the evidentiary record?
Moderator: Natalie Reid, Debevoise & Plimpton, New York, NY, USA
Panelists:
- Prof. Massimo Benedettelli, Arblit, Milan, Italy
- John Fellas, Fellas Arbitration, New York, NY, USA
- Dr. Laurent Lévy, Lévy Kauffman-Kohler, Geneva, Switzerland
- John Townsend, Hughes Hubbard & Reed, Washington DC, USA
3:20 pm – 4:20 pm - Due Process and the "Reasoned Award"
This Workshop Panel will discuss how due process concerns shape the content of arbitral awards, including the degree of specificity regarding tribunals’ analyses. How much explanation of the assessment of the law and the evidence is too little—or too much?
Moderator: Prof. Irene Ten Cate, Brooklyn Law School, New York, NY, USA
Panelists:
- John Bowman, Independent Arbitrator, Santa Fe, NM, USA
- Klaus Reichert, SC, Brick Court Chambers, London, UK
- Edna Sussman, Independent Arbitrator, New York, NY, USA
- Claus von Wobeser, Von Wobeser y Sierra, Mexico City, Mexico
4:25 pm - Coffee Break
4:40 pm – 5:40 pm - Closing Dialogue: Can We Agree on What Due Process Requires, or on the Need for a Re-Set?
This panel will provide, in light of the day’s discussions, a critical assessment of the effect of due process concerns on the effective practice of international arbitration.
Panelists:
- Jan Paulsson, Independent Arbitrator
- Tom Sikora, Chair, ITA Advisory Board, Senior Counsel International Disputes, Houston, TX, USA
- Luke Sobota, Three Crowns LLP, Washington, D.C., USA
5:45 pm - Concluding Remarks
- Prof. Tom Stipanowich, Workshop Co-Chair, Pepperdine University, Malibu, CA, USA
Other Activities for ITA Advisory Board Members and Guests
Wednesday, June 19
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm - Young ITA Annual Meeting
Thursday, June 20
6:45 pm - 8:45 pm - Advisory Board Reception and Annual Dinner Meeting
The Driskill Hotel
Friday, June 21
7:45 am - ITA Americas Initiative Annual Meeting
9:00 am - ITA Forum
The ITA Forum is an informal, off-the-record discussion of current developments and concerns in international arbitration among ITA members, Workshop faculty, and special guests. The agenda for this open discussion is determined by the participants. Please click here to submit your questions or topics in advance for discussion at the Forum.
Moderators: Sonia Bjorkquist, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, Toronto, Canada; Jennifer Haworth McCandless, Baker Botts, Washington, D.C.; Thomas Innes, Steptoe International (UK) LLP, London, UK; Dr. Richard Happ, Luther, Hamburg, Germany