Second South Pacific International Arbitration Conference: Enhancing the Rule of Law & Increasing Business Confidence in a Globalized Economy 25 to 26 March 2019 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 25 March 2019 26 March 2019 Session / Activity Title Speaker(s) 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… David Tonkin 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 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… Kevin Nash 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… Wesley Pang 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)… Abhinav Bhushan 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… Bronwyn Lincoln Session / Activity Title Speaker(s) 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… Swee Yen Koh 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… Leah Ratcliff 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… Steven Finizio 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,… Shai Wade 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… William Panlilio 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… Prakash Pillai 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… Steven Finizio 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… Jelita Pandjaitan 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… Ilona Millar 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… Fedelma Claire Smith 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 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 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… Abhinav Bhushan 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,… Fedelma Claire Smith 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… Daniel Kalderimis 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 &… Khory McCormick, Rio Fiocco, Swee Yen Koh, Shai Wade, Hyungkeun Lee 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… Suresh Chandra 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… Steven Finizio 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 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,… Abhinav Bhushan 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… Catherine Green 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… 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. Event Coordinator/s Christina Pak Related Full Agenda List of Participants ADB Organizer/s Office of the General Counsel Partner Organization/s Government of Papua New Guinea, UNCITRAL Regional Centre for Asia and the Pacific Topics Capacity Development Finance Industry and Trade Knowledge Management Private Sector