'THE INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATOR - AN IDENTITY CRISIS' - James Clanchy: FCIArb

Date: Wednesday, 04 Nov 2020, 18:30 - 19:30 Location: Internet Webinar Member cost: £0 (including VAT) Non-member cost: £0 (including VAT)

Does the self-regulating international arbitration community have an inclusive notion of ‘self’ and are non-lawyer arbitrators an endangered species?

Grounded by COVID-19 and presiding over hearings and conference panels by Zoom, international arbitrators face an uncertain future. Meanwhile most international commercial arbitrations carry on as if nothing had happened: they don’t require hearings and the arbitrators appointed in them have always worked from home.

This talk will explore a growing disconnect between the image of the international arbitrator, invariably a lawyer, and the arbitrators whom commercial parties need for their cases. It will query whether data analytics tools, directories, rankings, and arbitrator databases help in the search for candidates for appointment. The term ‘international arbitration’ has been appropriated by an increasingly homogeneous elite and yet the UNCITRAL Model Law, and national arbitration regimes, contemplate communities of arbitrators coming from different professions and backgrounds. This will be a call to recognise and speak up for that diversity, which is well represented in the CIArb.

James Clanchy is an arbitrator in independent practice and works part-time for LexisPSL a web-based practical guidance service. He is an associate member of Six Pump Court chambers in London. James is a solicitor in England & Wales and was an avocat at the Paris bar from 1994 to 2008. He spent 20 years as a commercial disputes lawyer In London and Paris, specialising in shipping, oil and gas, and international trade. He was Registrar and Deputy Director General of the London Court of International Arbitration for four years and spent two years as a case assessor for third-party funders and ATE insurers at Thomas Miller Legal. He is Hon Secretary of CIArb London Branch and a member of the board of the London Chamber of Arbitration and Mediation.

Cost: There is no charge for this event. Guests and non-members are most welcome but registration must be made by booking via the 'Book Now' button below and following the instructions.

Queries can be directed to Mohammed Haque, Chairman of Thames Valley Branch CIArb at haq1967@gmail.com

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS EVENT IS NOW FULL AND NO FURTHER BOOKINGS CAN BE ACCEPTED. WE INTEND TO RECORD THE TALK AND WILL MAKE IT AVAILABLE ON-LINE, AT A LATER DATE.

PLEASE E-MAIL MO HAQUE IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A LINK TO THE TALK, WHEN IT IS AVAILABLE.