The conference was opened with welcome addresses from Dr. Kristin van Zwieten (Commercial Law Centre at Harris Manchester College, University of Oxford) and conference organiser André Luís Monteiro (Mannheimer, Perez e Lyra Advogados). Four panels comprised of exceptional speakers followed.
The first panel dealt with decision-making processes in international arbitration. The panel was chaired by Sir Jack Beatson (Essex Court Chambers). The other panel members were Donald Donovan (Debevoise & Plimpton), Filipa Cansado Carvalho (PLMJ), Juliet Blanch (Arbitration Chambers) and Ricardo Aprigliano (Aprigliano Advogados).
The second panel followed with a thorough debate over China’s new commercial approach and its impact on international arbitration, i.e., the ‘Belt and Road’ Initiative. The speakers were Chong Yee Leong (Allen & Glendhill), Guilherme Rizzo Amaral (Souto Correa), Melody Wang (Fangda Partners) and Weixia Gu (University of Hong Kong), mediated by Jonathan Lim (WilmerHale).
The third panel considered a uniform interpretation of the Kompetenz-Kompetenz rule across national courts internationally. The panel, composed of Chris Parker (Herbert Smith Freehills), Danielle Morris (WilmerHale), Dario Moura Vicente (University of Lisbon) and Eleonora Coelho (CAM-CCBC), was led by André Abbud (BMA).
The last panel of the day led the conference to a complex topic in international arbitration. Flavia Mange (Mange & Gabbay Sociedade de Advogados) chaired the panel, made up of Andreas Hacke (zhmp, University of Oxford), David Orta (Quinn Emanuel), Pedro Barroso (Petrobras) and Sophie Lamb QC (Latham & Watkins), which discussed class arbitrations in investor-company disputes.
Closing the event, Alan Redfern (One Essex Court) was interviewed by Renato Grion (Pinheiro Neto Advogados). The 45-minute talk addressed the personal life of Mr. Redfern as well as current technical issues in international arbitration.
The event was sponsored by (i) Center for Arbitration and Mediation (CAM-CCBC); (ii) Pinheiro Neto Advogados; (iii) Lex Finance; (iv) Mannheimer, Perez e Lyra Advogados; (v) Debevoise & Plimpton LLP; (vi) WilmerHale LLP; (vii) Justen, Pereira, Oliveira & Talamini Advogados; (viii) PLMJ – Sociedade de Advogados; and (ix) Cesar Asfor Rocha Advogados.
The event also had the institutional support of (i) ICC; (ii) Kluwer, (iii) CIArb; (iv) CBAr; (v) CEA; (vi) CIESP/FIESP; (vii) TDM+OGEMID; (viii) AMCHAM; (ix) CAMARB; and (x) IBDP.
