IDR Group News
August 2009: New Members and Consultants
The IDR Group is pleased to announce the names of new Members and Consultants
Joining the Group as Members:
Andrew Berkeley: specialist in the oil and gas industry. International arbitrator based in London with experience of both ad hoc and institutional arbitration.
Giovanni de Berti: Italian lawyer with a wide experience of commercial dispute resolution by arbitration and mediation. Based in Milan.
Judge Thomas Mensah: first President of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, Hamburg. President of the Arbitral Tribunal in the “MOX Plant Case” (Ireland v. United Kingdom). Based in London.
John Tackaberry QC: extensive experience internationally as advocate, arbitrator and mediator in construction, engineering and commercial disputes. Based in London.
Joining the Group as members of the Panel of Consultants:
Dr Randall Gossen: based in Canada, Dr Gossen is the President of the World Petroleum Council: a forum for discussing issues facing the oil industry on a worldwide basis. He is also Vice president of Global Business Relations at Nexen, Inc., Calgary, Canada.
Rt Hon Sir Donald McKinnon: International statesman. Former Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of New Zealand. Secretary General of the Commonwealth Secretariat from 2000 until 2008. Based in New Zealand and London.
For the CV s go to the Members and Consultants sections of the website
June 2009: Reception for CIETAC Delegation at the Houses of Parliament
A full complement of guests attended a Reception in the Houses of Parliament in London on 29 June 2009. The Reception, held in the Inter-Parliamentary Room in Westminster Hall, was staged by the IDR Group to welcome a CIETAC Delegation from China.
On a case-load basis the China International and Economic Trade Arbitration Commission is one of the busiest international commercial arbitration bodies in the world.
The IDR Group was pleased to have been invited to arrange the Reception to welcome such an important delegation from one of the world’s fastest - growing economies.
The head of the 17-strong Delegation was Mr Dong Songgen, Vice Chairman of CIETAC and Vice Chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.
Representatives of international organisations attended the Reception: the World Petroleum Council, the Energy Institute, the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Great Britain-China Centre, the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and IDRS Ltd, the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, Navigant Consulting, the International Chamber of Commerce and the Singapore International Arbitration Centre.
Lawyers from major international law firms in London attending the Reception included partners in Cleary Gottlieb, Latham & Watkins, Fulbright & Jaworski and Simmons & Simmons. A number of partners from Westminster law firm Radcliffes LeBrasseur - which supported the Reception - met the Leader of the Delegation.
Two peers with a particular interest in China joined the Reception: Lord Teverson and Lord Crickhowell.
Members of the IDR Group who greeted the Delegation were Lord Anderson, the official host; Prince Bola Ajibola, Andrew Berkeley, Anthony Connerty, Dr Randall Gossen, Arthur Harverd, Professor Munir Maniruzzaman, Sir Donald McKinnon, Professor Derek Roebuck, John Tackaberry QC; and the Group’s Administrator, Dr Christina Lockwood.
One of the IDR Group’s members, Beijing lawyer Mr Xing Xiusong, was a member of the Delegation: another member of the Group is the internationally - respected Chinese arbitrator Professor Tang Houzhi. Professor Tang is an Honorary Vice Chairman of CIETAC.
Welcome speeches were delivered by Lord Anderson and by Anthony Connerty, head of the IDR Group. Anthony informed the guests of the Conferences which the Group has staged since its launch in early 2008: in London in conjunction with the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies; in Ankara with the Union of Turkish Bars; and in Cairo with the American University in Cairo. He told of planned conference in Washington DC in late 2009 and in Beijing in 2010. The Beijing conference is likely to be staged in conjunction with CIETAC and the Beijing Lawyers’ Association.
Delegation Leader Mr Dong Songgen spoke of CIETAC and of the Delegation’s visit to London. He said that the Delegation had noted a number of ideas whilst on their visit to London: ideas that they would be taking back with them to China.
James Hope welcomed the Delegation on behalf of Vinge Law Firm, Sweden.
Vinge kindly co-hosted the Reception with the IDR Group.
James Hope and Anthony Connerty then proposed a toast to CIETAC. Three members of the IDR Group are members of the CIETAC Panel of Arbitrators for International (Foreign Related) Disputes: Anthony Connerty, Johan Gernandt and John Tackaberry Q.C.
IDR Group London Conference Booklet
The papers delivered at the joint IDR Group / Institute of Advanced Legal Studies Conference held at the Institute in London in October 2008 have been published in the May 2009 edition of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators’ journal “Arbitration”.
The conference topic was “National Resources: the Challenges for International Dispute Resolution”.
Those papers have now been published separately by the IDR Group in a booklet edited by Professor Derek Roebuck, a member of the IDR Group’s Panel of Consultants.
The booklets were available for the guests at the CIETAC Reception.
June 2009: Conferences
The IDR Group has put on a number of conferences in different parts of the world since
its launch at a Reception in the Houses of Parliament in April 2008.
Each of these conferences has been staged in conjunction with a leading body in the academic, professional or arbitral field.
The conference themes have been on the broad topic of international dispute resolution: the specific theme for each country being chosen on the basis of local advice.
The conferences held so far have been in London, Ankara and Cairo. Future conferences are planned for Washington D.C and Beijing.
London - 31 October 2008: Joint Conference with the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies
The one - day conference was held at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies in Russell Square, London WC1. The conference theme was “The control of national resources: the challenges for international dispute resolution”.
Group members participating were Lord Anderson of Swansea (who chaired one of the sessions), Andrew Berkeley, Professor Munir Maniruzzaman, Rt. Hon. Donald McKinnon, Judge Thomas Mensah, David Branson, Johan Gernandt, Anthony Connerty and Professor Derek Roebuck. Professor Avrom Sher, Director of the IALS, gave a welcome address.
Other sessions were chaired by Sir Henry Brooke and Sir Anthony Evans.
The audience included lawyers from some of the major international law firms in London: Clifford Chance, Herbert Smith, Sullivan & Cromwell, Wilmer Hale and Olswang - as well as delegates from major international corporations such as Shell International.
Supporting organisations were the British Institute of International and Comparative Law; Oil, Gas & Energy Law (OGEL); and transnational dispute management (TDM).
The conference was followed by a reception sponsored by Sullivan & Cromwell.
Many of the papers presented at the London conference have been published in the May 2009 edition of “Arbitration”, the journal of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
Articles on the conference have been published in the Winter 2008 Edition of “Amicus Curiae”, the journal of the Society for Advanced Legal Studies; and in the in the January 2009 edition of the Energy Institute’s “Petroleum Review”.
FOR CONFERENCE PROGRAMME CLICK HERE
Ankara - 9 & 10 January 2009: Joint Conference with the Union of Turkish Bars and the Ankara Bar
The theme of this two day conference was “International Dispute Resolution: Practice, Procedure and Problems”.
There was a capacity audience, with some would – be delegates being turned away at the door.
The Turkish Prime Minister and various government ministers sent telegrams of good wishes to the Conference. A number of Turkish Supreme Court Judges were in the audience. The Conference was filmed by Turkish TV.
Members of the Group speaking were Giovanni de Berti, Anthony Connerty, John Tackaberry QC, Professor Munir Maniruzziman and Professor Guido Carducci. The IDR Group speakers were joined by a number of distinguished Turkish lawyers and academics.
Various receptions were arranged by the Turkish hosts.
The Union of Turkish Bars plan to produce a Conference Book (in Turkish and English) containing the conference papers and the interventions.
FOR CONFERENCE PROGRAMME CLICK HERE
Cairo - 31 March 2009: Joint Conference with the American University in Cairo
The one - day conference was held in the magnificent Oriental Hall at the AUC’s down-town campus in Cairo.
The conference theme was “Investment State Arbitration, Resource Nationalism & Institutional Impartiality: The Challenges for International Dispute Resolution”.
Supporting organisations were the Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration; Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, London; International Law Institute, Washington D.C.; International Chamber of Commerce, Paris; and TDM and OGEL.
Group members participating in the conference were H.E. Ambassador Dr. Wafik Kamil, Professor Ahmed El Kosheri, Anthony Connerty, Johan Gernandt, David Branson, Philippe Leboulanger and Professor Guido Carducci. They were joined by distinguished Egyptian lawyers and academics on panels that included Jason Fry, Secretary General of the ICC International Court of Arbitration, and a number of international lawyers.
A welcome address on behalf of the AUC was delivered by the University’s Provost,
Dr. Lisa Anderson. Dr. Nabil Elaraby, Director of the Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration, gave a closing address on behalf of the Centre.
Law firms sponsoring the conference were Hafez; Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer; Shalakany Law Office; and Crowell & Moring.
A pre-conference reception was hosted by Hafez at their offices in Garden City. Following the conference Crowell & Moring hosted a reception at Sequoia
Delegates attending came from Egypt, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Tunisia, Switzerland and Canada.
FOR CONFERENCE PROGRAMME CLICK HERE
April 2008: Reception at the Houses of Parliament to launch THE IDR GROUP®
The Attorney General, Baroness Scotland of Asthal QC, was the Guest Speaker at a Reception held in the Houses of Parliament on 30 April 2008 to mark the launch of the IDR Group. The Reception was held in the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Room in Westminster Hall: built in the 11th Century, Westminster Hall is the largest surviving part of the original Palace of Westminster.
Amongst the guests at the Reception were Commonwealth High Commissioners, partners in international law firms, and representatives of major organisations such as the Corporation of London, the World Petroleum Council, the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, the International Chamber of Commerce, the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, the City Disputes Panel, the International Dispute Resolution Centre, and UNCTAD, the Geneva-based United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
Introducing the Attorney General, Lord Anderson of Swansea stressed Baroness Scotland’s links to the Commonwealth. The Attorney then spoke of the importance of arbitration and alternative dispute resolution in international affairs. She welcomed the creation of the Group in a world where international trade was forever increasing.
Lord Anderson later introduced Anthony Connerty, the Head of the Group, who gave a brief description of the IDR Group, its Members and the Group’s Panel of Consultants.
