Professor Loukas Mistelis is Director of the School of International Arbitration in the Centre for Commercial Law Studies (CCLS). His lecture topic was "The Many Faces of International Arbitration".
International Arbitration has witnessed in the last fifty or sixty years a wider acceptance: it has gained recognition in parts of the world where historically there was reluctance to accept this method of dispute settlement and at the same time arbitration expanded in new industries, such as foreign direct investment, banking, sports, media and telecoms. At the same time there is increased criticism as to the efficiency and the user-friendliness of international arbitration while it often appears to be the only option, at least for cross-border transactions. His Lecture looked at international arbitration as a well-established but imperfect system and aims at highlighting practical and theoretical ways of moving forward.
The Alexander Lecture was founded in recognition of the contribution of Mr John Russell Willis Alexander (1897 - 1985) to the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. John Alexander was both a fervent supporter of all things Institute and one of the leading academic figures in arbitration throughout the period. He served for 40 years as a member of Council and as president of the Institute between 1952 and 1955. He created the first Alexander Lecture in 1974, delivered by the then Master of the Rolls Lord Denning. The Alexander Lectures were designed as an annual series of public lectures to be given by the most distinguished members of the judiciary as well as legal practitioners and other eminent speakers within the field of arbitration. For more information see www.ciarb.org