• The European Union (EU) is increasingly turning
its back on ad hoc arbitration as the mechanism of
investment dispute resolution in favour of an
investment court system with permanent judges
(as in recent agreements with Canada and
Vietnam). This may be the approach taken in a
future EU-UK agreement post-Brexit. Meanwhile,
the storm of Brexit will have little impact on the
status of London as an arbitral seat. Indeed, given
the uncertain international enforcement status of
English court judgments in a post-Brexit world,
arbitration appears ever more attractive as the
New York Convention on the Recognition and
Enforcement of Arbitral Awards continues to
ensure enforceability within and outside the EU.
• As China's Belt and Road initiative continues
to gather momentum in 2018, its impact for
Asia and beyond will be far-reaching. Arbitration
is the dispute resolution process of choice in many
of the related international infrastructure
projects. With thousands of projects now in
progress, we can expect an uptick in the number
of disputes, with a likely focus on Hong Kong and
Singapore as arbitral seats.
• Technology is driving change across the world
economy, bringing opportunities and risks for
corporates and states alike. The fast pace and
sheer scale of digital transformation is likely to
give rise to disputes, as seen with the recent
increase in intellectual property arbitrations,
an emerging trend that is set to accelerate.
• Diversity will remain firmly on the agenda with
an increasing number of signatories to the Equal
Representation in Arbitration Pledge. 2018 will be
a litmus test of the commitment of signatories
and the community more broadly to ensure that
women are appointed as arbitrators on an equal
opportunity basis.
• The funding of arbitration claims has entered
the mainstream with increasing numbers of
claimants offsetting the multi-year exposure
of capital through bespoke arrangements with
specialist funders. Funding is also being
increasingly employed by multinationals with
regard to portfolios of claims. It continues to
ensure access to justice for claimants whose
financial means of bringing a claim has been
destroyed by the conduct of the respondent.
These tectonic moves will require constant
adaptation to ensure that international arbitration
survives and thrives by serving its ideals of prompt,
expert and independent adjudication. We look
forward to facing these challenges in the year ahead
with our clients, who entrust us with their most
important disputes in a world of change. If you
would like to find out more about any of these
topics, please contact me or my colleagues in the
international arbitration group.
International arbitration:
the top trends in 2018