Columbia Arbitration Day 2021: Program

Keynote Speaker: Caline Mouawad
Chaffetz Lindsey, New York

We are delighted to welcome Caline Mouawad as our keynote speaker for CAD 2021. Ms. Mouawad is a partner at Chaffetz Lindsey, where she represents clients in both international commercial arbitrations and in investment treaty disputes. Some of her recent representations include representing owners of power plants in an ICC arbitration under New York law regarding breaches of EPC contracts, and representing a Spanish company in an UNCITRAL arbitration brought under a South American bilateral investment treaty concerning a consumer goods business.

Ms. Mouawad serves as Vice-Chair of the Steering Committee of the ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR, has formerly chaired the International Law Committee of the New York City Bar Association, and is currently a member of the International Commercial Disputes Committee. She has been recognized by Crain’s New York Business on the 2020 list of Notable Women in Law; as a “Next Generation Partner” for International Arbitration by Legal 500 USA; “Recommended Lawyer” for International Arbitration by Legal 500 Latin America; World’s Leading Women in Business Law for Commercial Arbitration (U.S.) by Euromoney’s Expert Guides; one of Latin America’s Top 100 Female Lawyers by Latinvex, and by Who’s Who Legal as a Global Thought Leader in Arbitration.

Ms. Mouawad will address the conference on the conference theme, discussing the interactions between modern international arbitration and today’s ever-changing world.

Confidentiality, Transparency, and In-Person Hearings – Does a right to an in-person hearing exist in international arbitration?

Travel restrictions, quarantine requirements, and the spread of the coronavirus have all affected how arbitrations are conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. In-person attendance at hearings is now only a remote possibility for most parties. If the parties are unable to come to an agreement on holding remote hearings, how should arbitrators and counsel respond? How does this interact with issues of transparency and confidentiality in Investor-state arbitration?

Here’s the scenario: In an Investor-State dispute under the UNCITRAL Rules, the Respondent State, citing its interest in transparency, has requested that the hearings are to be conducted remotely, and that the web conference link to the hearings be made publicly available. The Claimant opposes this, citing cybersecurity and confidentiality concerns, and requests an in-person hearing instead. The Tribunal has invited the Parties to make brief oral submissions on this issue.

Arbitrators:

1.   Prof. Maxi Scherer, WilmerHale, Queen Mary University of London, London

2.   Prof. George Bermann, Columbia Law School, New York

3.   Prof. John Fellas, NYU School of Law, Fellas Arbitration, New York

Speakers:

1.   Rahim Moloo, Gibson Dunn, New York

2.   Preeti Bhagnani, White & Case, New York