Daria Korniienko, Comparative and International Dispute Resolution LLM class 2023, reports on Queen Mary University of London's involvement in the London International Disputes Week 2024, including the several contributions from our LLM students to the Kluwer Arbitration Blog.
Left to right: Karan Abhaykumar Parmar, Dr Maria Fanou, Daria Korniienko, Minul Muhamdiramge and João Gabriel Volasco Rodrigues.
London International Disputes Week (LIDW) is a major international event organised by the disputes community in London. Professor Loukas Mistelis of Queen Mary University of London is one of its co-chairs. The LIDW 2024 edition took place from 3 to 7 June 2024 under the theme, "Uniting for global challenge and opportunity," and focused on shaping the future of international dispute resolution.
LIDW 2024 offered a diverse programme along with numerous social and networking events, providing participants the chance to exchange ideas, forge new relationships, and reconnect with old colleagues. LIDW 2024 attracted an impressive number of 7,900 attendees from 102 countries.
Queen Mary and its School of International Arbitration have been involved with LIDW since its inception and also had a strong presence in this edition. In addition to the various events co-organised by Queen Mary/SIA, and the numerous others featuring its academic members and some 30 of its distinguished alumni as speakers, current LLM students had the opportunity to attend several events (notably focused on international arbitration) throughout the week. A group of four LLM students specialising in Comparative and International Dispute Resolution were given the opportunity to contribute to the Kluwer Arbitration Blog with their reports on LIDW events.
In more detail, João Gabriel Volasco Rodrigues reported on the topic of "Mass Litigation and the Courts of Europe and the UK: Have they Finally Found a Place to Call Home?". The post discussed various aspects of mass litigations, such as the nature and standard profile of plaintiffs and defendants in these claims; the applicable regime; the legal basis and reasoning underlying mass litigation being brought in EU and UK courts; and the role that third-party financiers play in these disputes.
Alongside his colleague Minul Muhamdiramge, they published the report on "Rule of Law, Regulated Markets, and Arbitration." The post covered two of the events that were co-hosted by Queen Mary. It highlights the key takeaways of the discussion on complex issues in international arbitration (including fraud, sanctions, and enforcement) as well as the arbitrability of regulated markets. Minul Muhamdiramge also covered various events all related to the role of Artificial Intelligence and the use of technology in international arbitration in “Navigating the Future of Arbitration with AI at the Helm”.
Furthermore, Daria Korniienko co-authored (together with Maria Jose Alarcon) a report on the topic, "How Can Investment Protection Contribute to the Energy Transition?". Various subjects were explored, including the Energy Charter Treaty, the prospective significance of forthcoming and current advisory opinions on climate change for ISDS, and impact of third-party funding on financing such claims.
Karan Parmar covered a keynote by Jan Paulsson, discussing the evolution of arbitration and its future, emphasising the need to balance technology with ethical standards. The keynote was followed by a panel on Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 also covered succinctly in the report.
Finally, João, Minul, and Karan jointly prepared an overview of one of the highlights of LIDW 2024, the "Arbitral Institutions Congress". This event took place in the historic Parliament Chamber at Middle Temple and brought together representatives of some of the leading arbitration institutions.
Read the rich coverage of the 2024 LIDW on the Kluwer Arbitration Blog.
Special gratitude is extended to Dr Maria Fanou and Professor Loukas Mistelis of the School of International Arbitration, Queen Mary, for motivating the students and providing them the opportunity to demonstrate their interest and involvement by publishing the reports.
We hope that the forthcoming LLM students in comparative and international dispute resolution will have similar extra-curricular opportunities to learn, network and publish their work!
By Daria Korniienko (LLM in Comparative and International Dispute Resolution, London, class 2023)