Conference programme

Over the past decade, the use of third-party funding (TPF) has grown and developed, raising concerns in the field of investment arbitration about the parties’ equality of arms. This panel will discuss whether TPF really facilitates investors’ claims and the measures so far proposed by the arbitral community to address the alleged imbalance brought to the system by the wider use of TPF.

Economic sanctions have traditionally been imposed on individuals and companies across the world as a tool of political pressure and have recently gained global relevance in view of the war in Ukraine. For international arbitration, these sanctions represent a great challenge as they may pose numerous procedural pitfalls, which can even obstruct access to justice. This panel will explore the practical effects of economic sanctions on arbitral institutions, arbitrators and parties, and how to ensure the enforcement of arbitration agreements entered into by sanctioned countries..

The development of international arbitration in the last decade has given rise to debates regarding the extent of the arbitrators’ duty of disclosure and how cultural background may affect the interpretation of national courts regarding the breach of this duty. This panel will look at recent case law on the matter, as well as national legislative initiatives, to analyse the real need for further regulating the duty of disclosure.

With the increasing intricacies of the cases involving corruption allegations, the solutions applied so far by arbitral tribunals with respect to the effects produced by parallel proceedings, plea bargains and standard of proof are being revisited. This panel will discuss what should be a realistic and practical approach for corruption allegations.