Events

Third South Pacific International Arbitration Conference: De-Risking Investment in the South Pacific Through a World Class International Arbitration Disputes Regime

17 March 2021

Sydney

Australia

To raise awareness and discuss the positive development impact of international arbitration reform in the South Pacific, ADB, in conjunction with UNCITRAL, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration, and other renowned arbitration institutions and development partners, hosted the Third South Pacific International Arbitration Conference (the “Conference”). The Conference was attended by key government officials, policy makers, development partners, judges, law practitioners, and private sector participants from the South Pacific region, as well as international speakers. The Conference also provided in-depth knowledge on the practical aspects of different types 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:

17 Mar 2021

Date	Session / Activity	Presentation Material	Speaker(s)
17 Mar 2021	Inaugural Session	Thomas Clark - Opening Remarks In his opening remarks, Mr. Thomas Clark, general counsel of ADB, highlighted the significance of this conference in convening key government officials...	Thomas Clark
17 Mar 2021	Inaugural Session	Athita Komindr - Opening Remarks (Speech) [Document] [Slides] Ms. Athita Komindr, head of the UNCITRAL Regional Centre for Asia and the Pacific (RCAP), also gave her opening remarks. She identified the positive impacts...	Athita Komindr
17 Mar 2021	Inaugural Session	John Denton - Keynote Address Mr. John Denton, secretary general of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), delivered the keynote address. He drew the audiences’ attention to ...	John Denton
17 Mar 2021	Session 1: Investing in the Pacific: Promoting Confidence in International Business through a Stable Disputes Regime - A Roundtable with the International Business and Development Community	The Economic Impact of International Commercial Arbitration Prof. Dr. Jordi Paniagua, professor of economics at the University of Valencia, highlighted the positive economic impacts of international commercial ...	Jordi Paniagua
17 Mar 2021	Session 1: Investing in the Pacific: Promoting Confidence in International Business through a Stable Disputes Regime - A Roundtable with the International Business and Development Community	Experience of the Republic of Korea Mr. Changwan Han, director of the International Dispute Settlement Division of Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Justice, talked about how international...	Changwan Han
17 Mar 2021	Session 2: The Pacific Countries and International Arbitration Reform	Overview of International Arbitration Reform in the South Pacific Ms. Christina Pak, principal counsel and team leader of the Law and Policy Reform (LPR) Program of ADB, informed the participants about this arbitration...	Christina Pak
17 Mar 2021	Session 3A: Concurrent Breakout Session For Lawyers: Drafting International Arbitration Agreements	Drafting International Arbitration Agreements The session covered the different types of arbitration, the elements that should be incorporated in an arbitration agreement, and tips to consider and...	Jo Delaney, Swee Yen Koh, May Tai, Daniel Kalderimis, Abhinav Bhushan
17 Mar 2021	Session 3C: Concurrent Breakout Session For Judges: Implementation of the New York Convention – Judicial Perspective	Third South Pacific International Arbitration Conference - Presentation by Acting Chief Justice Kamal Kumar Justice Kamal Kumar, acting chief justice of the Supreme Court of Fiji, discussed the arbitration regime in Fiji.Fiji’s International Arbitration Act ...	Hon. Acting Chief Justice Kamal Kumar
17 Mar 2021	Session 3C: Concurrent Breakout Session For Judges: Implementation of the New York Convention – Judicial Perspective	Remarks of Michael Whitten QC Lord Chief Justice Michael Whitten QC of the Supreme Court of Tonga presented next on Tonga’s arbitration law regime.Tonga’s International Arbitration...	Hon. Lord Chief Justice Michael Whitten QC
17 Mar 2021	Session 3C: Concurrent Breakout Session For Judges: Implementation of the New York Convention – Judicial Perspective	Implementation of the New York Convention in Papua New Guinea Justice Jeffery Shepherd of the Supreme and National Courts of Justice of PNGbriefly addressed the draft Arbitration Bill discussed by Dr. Eric Kwa in...	Hon. Justice Jeffery Shepherd
17 Mar 2021	Session 3C: Concurrent Breakout Session For Judges: Implementation of the New York Convention – Judicial Perspective	Role of Judiciary and Jurisprudence in Domestic and International Arbitration This paper informs the readers about thearbitration related decisions rendered by Pakistani judiciary, the challenges faced by the Pakistani legal fraternity...	Hon. Justice Jawad Hassan