Second South Pacific International Arbitration Conference: Enhancing the Rule of Law & Increasing Business Confidence in a Globalized Economy

Events

Second South Pacific International Arbitration Conference: Enhancing the Rule of Law & Increasing Business Confidence in a Globalized Economy

25 March 2019 to 26 March 2019
Port Moresby
Papua New Guinea

To raise awareness and discuss the positive development impact of international arbitration reform in the South Pacific, the Government of Papua New Guinea, in conjunction with ADB, UNCITRAL Regional Centre for Asia and the Pacific and other development partners and arbitral institutions, hosted the Second South Pacific International Arbitration Conference (the “Conference”). About 250 participants, including key government officials, policy makers, development partners, judges, law practitioners, and private sector participants from the South Pacific region, as well as international speakers, attended the event. The Conference provided in-depth knowledge on the practical aspects of different type of disputes in the region and globally. There were also specialized interactive concurrent breakout sessions tailored for different stakeholders such as private sector, law practitioners and judges.

Program and Learning Materials: 
Date Session / Activity Presentation Material Speaker(s)
25 Mar 2019 Session 1: International Arbitration: Promoting Confidence in International Business through Building on the Rule of Law Promoting Confidence in International Business through Building on the Rule of Law
Mr. David Tonkin, chief counsel for legal, procurement and fraud at the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade), briefed the participants...
David Tonkin
25 Mar 2019 Session 1: International Arbitration: Promoting Confidence in International Business through Building on the Rule of Law Economics of International Arbitration
Lastly, Prof. Dr. Jordi Paniagua, professor of economics at the University of Valencia, explained how international economic flows follow the gravity ...
Jordi Paniagua
25 Mar 2019 Session 3: Introduction to International Commercial Arbitration Costs and Time in International Commercial Arbitration
Mr. Kevin Nash talked about the costs and time involved in international commercial arbitration, noting the differences in costs and time between an institutional...
Kevin Nash
25 Mar 2019 Session 3: Introduction to International Commercial Arbitration Ad Hoc and Institutional Arbitration
Mr. Wesley Pang, managing counsel at the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC), provided an overview of ad hoc and institutional arbitration...
Wesley Pang
25 Mar 2019 Session 3: Introduction to International Commercial Arbitration The Anatomy of International Arbitration
Mr. Abhinav Bhushan, director for South Asia of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) International...
Abhinav Bhushan
25 Mar 2019 Session 3: Introduction to International Commercial Arbitration Resolving Cross Border Commercial Disputes
Ms. Bronwyn Lincoln, partner at Corrs Chambers Westgarth, spoke about ADR and the other ways of resolving commercial disputes between parties from different...
Bronwyn Lincoln
Date Session / Activity Presentation Material Speaker(s)
26 Mar 2019 Session 5: New York Convention and the South Pacific Countries Introduction to the New York Convention
Ms. Koh introduced the audience to the New York Convention, which had 159 contracting parties at the time of the conference. The convention has been in...
Swee Yen Koh
26 Mar 2019 Session 7: Arbitrating Technical Issues – Energy Disputes International Commercial Arbitration in Upstream Oil and Gas Vector
Ms. Leah Ratcliff, of counsel at Jones Day, talked about upstream energy projects. According to her, these projects involve complex contracting structures...
Leah Ratcliff
26 Mar 2019 Session 7: Arbitrating Technical Issues – Energy Disputes Gas Supply Transactions and Disputes
Mr. Steven Finizio, partner at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, discussed about gas supply transactions and disputes. Gas supply disputes may...
Steven Finizio
26 Mar 2019 Session 7: Arbitrating Technical Issues – Energy Disputes Exploration and Production Phase
Mr. Shai Wade, partner at Stephenson Harwood LLP, focused on exploration and production, and the disputes that may arise during these stages, particularly...
Shai Wade
26 Mar 2019 Session 7: Arbitrating Technical Issues – Energy Disputes Renewable Energy Disputes
Mr. William B. Panlilio, associate at King & Spalding, zeroed in on renewable energy. He stressed that renewable energy will become an increasingly...
William Panlilio
26 Mar 2019 Session 8: Arbitrating Technical Issues – Financial Disputes International Arbitration in Project Finance Transactions
Mr. Prakash Pillai, partner at Clyde & Co Clasis Singapore Pte. Ltd., began by introducing the audience to the concept, parties involved, and typical...
Prakash Pillai
26 Mar 2019 Session 8: Arbitrating Technical Issues – Financial Disputes Arbitrating Financial Disputes
Mr. Finizio talked about the state of use of arbitration amongst the financial sector. On the one hand, arbitration is advantageous because of its enforceability...
Steven Finizio
26 Mar 2019 Session 8: Arbitrating Technical Issues – Financial Disputes Experts in Financial Disputes
Ms. Pandjaitan talked about the importance of expert arbitrators and independent experts in arbitrating financial disputes. Expert arbitrators, or those...
Jelita Pandjaitan
26 Mar 2019 Session 9: Arbitrating Technical Issues – Arbitration and Climate Change Climate Finance Flows in the Pacific
Ms. Ilona Millar, special counsel in the Environmental Markets team at Baker McKenzie, Sydney, briefly explained the concept of climate finance and discussed...
Ilona Millar
26 Mar 2019 Session 9: Arbitrating Technical Issues – Arbitration and Climate Change Emerging Public Climate Finance Disputes: A Roadmap for Shifting Sands?
Ms. Smith shared her insights on emerging trends in public climate finance disputes, including the various forms of disputes foreseen under the United...
Fedelma Claire Smith
26 Mar 2019 Session 9: Arbitrating Technical Issues – Arbitration and Climate Change Emerging Private Climate Finance Disputes
Ms. Delaney talked about emerging private climate finance disputes. Funding for climate-related projects may come from the public sector, the private ...
Jo Delaney
26 Mar 2019 Session 10-A: Concurrent Breakout Session for Lawyers: Drafting Arbitration Agreements Drafting Arbitration Agreements
Mr. McQueen said that arbitration agreements form part of the "bargain" agreed between parties to a contract and evidence the terms of such agreement. ...
Peter McQueen
26 Mar 2019 Session 10-A: Concurrent Breakout Session for Lawyers: Drafting Arbitration Agreements Drafting of Arbitration Agreements
Mr. Bhushan discussed the different aspects of drafting an arbitration clause, the important elements of an arbitration agreement and of a multi-tiered...
Abhinav Bhushan
26 Mar 2019 Session 10-A: Concurrent Breakout Session for Lawyers: Drafting Arbitration Agreements Consent to Arbitration in Inter-State and "Mixed" Disputes
Ms. Smith advised the audience on how to promote efficiency and legitimacy in arbitration proceedings, with emphasis on disputes involving states, state...
Fedelma Claire Smith
26 Mar 2019 Session 10-A: Concurrent Breakout Session for Lawyers: Drafting Arbitration Agreements Arbitration in Papua New Guinea: Drafting Arbitration Agreements
Mr. Daniel Kalderimis, partner at Chapman Tripp, talked about the objectives of drafting an arbitration clause: to promote enforceability, protect confidentiality...
Daniel Kalderimis
26 Mar 2019 Session 10-B: Concurrent Breakout Session for Private Sector: Contracting with Foreign Parties and Cross-Border Dispute Resolution Contracting with Foreign Parties & Cross-Border Dispute Resolution
Prof. Khory McCormick, vice president at ACICA, moderated the session. Mr. Rio Fiocco, president of the Port Moresby Chamber of Commerce & Industry...
Khory McCormick, Rio Fiocco, Swee Yen Koh, Shai Wade, Hyungkeun Lee
26 Mar 2019 Session 10-C: Concurrent Breakout Session for Judges: Implementation of the New York Convention - Judicial Perspective International Arbitration - The Fiji Perspective
Justice Suresh Chandra, justice of the Supreme Court and resident justice of appeal of the Court of Appeal of Fiji, shared Fiji's experience in ratifying...
Suresh Chandra
26 Mar 2019 Session 11: New Developments in Dispute Resolution Developments in Institutions and Rules
Mr. Finizio identified the measures used to promote efficiency and cost-effectiveness, such as early determination of claims and defenses and expedited...
Steven Finizio
26 Mar 2019 Session 11: New Developments in Dispute Resolution Multiple Contracts, Consolidation and the 'Cross-Institution Consolidation Protocol'
Mr. Nash dealt with cross-institution consolidation for complex, multi-party disputes.
Kevin Nash
26 Mar 2019 Session 11: New Developments in Dispute Resolution New Developments in Dispute Resolution
Mr. Bhushan spoke about transparency and code of ethics issues, particularly from ICC’s ethos for transparency and accountability towards users, lawyers...
Abhinav Bhushan
26 Mar 2019 Session 11: New Developments in Dispute Resolution Arb-Med: A Hybrid Process
Ms. Catherine Green, executive director of NZIAC, presented on the hybrid arbitration-mediation (Arb-Med) process, explaining how it works in practice...
Catherine Green
26 Mar 2019 Session 11: New Developments in Dispute Resolution The Intersection of the New York Convention and the Singapore Convention
Prof. McCormick discussed the intersection between the New York Convention and the Singapore Convention on Mediation and the practices in recent years...
Khory McCormick

Disclaimer

The views expressed on this website are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) or its Board of Governors or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this publication and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. By making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area, or by using the term “country” in this document, ADB does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area.