II Comillas Arbitration Day: International Arbitration and Ethics

The Comillas Alumni International Arbitration Club and the Comillas Pontifical University’s Law School held the II Comillas Arbitration Day last 12 June at the Alberto Aguilera Campus (Madrid).

The event featured renowned experts in arbitration, including Prof. Catherine A. Rogers (Bocconi University/UC Law San Francisco) and Prof. Juan Fernández-Armesto (Armesto & Asociados).

The first panel addressed the “Arbitrators’ Duties and Conflicts of Interest”. It featured Alfredo Bullard, Partner at Bullard Falla Ezcurra+ (Madrid); Niuscha Bassiri, Partner at Hanotiau & van den Berg (Belgium); and Vanessa Alarcón Dunavel, Counsel at King & Spalding (Geneva). The discussion was moderated by Isabel San Martín, Senior Associate at LALIVE (London).

The speakers covered the new IBA Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest, exchanging views on what they believed would amount to a “close personal relationship”. The speakers also shared cases where arbitrators had been challenged on the basis of an alleged bias, and raised points relating to the importance of what arbitrators and counsel share in social media.

The second panel was “A Conversation on Party-Appointed Arbitrators”, featuring Prof. Catherine A. Rogers, Professor at Bocconi University and researcher for UC Law San Francisco (Milan); and Prof. Juan Fernández- Armesto (Madrid). The conversation was moderated by Prof. Diego Agulló from the Comillas Pontifical University (Madrid)

The panellists analysed the different issues which party-appointed arbitrators might face, including unclear impartiality standards and the dissent of arbitrators. They also shared their advice to those pursuing a career as an arbitrator. This insightful and lively discussion was further enriched by the audience’s questions and remarks.

The event concluded with a cocktail reception where panellists and attendees further discussed the topics of the panels.

This event was possible thanks to the support of the Comillas Alumni International Arbitration Club’s sponsors (A&O Shaerman, Armesto & Asociados, Clifford Chance, Holland & Knight and inARB) and partner organizations (the Spanish and Ibero-American Arbitration Club and Fide Fundación).