AMERICAS INITIATIVE

ITA established its Americas Initiative in 2003 to explore opportunities and develop activities by which ITA could better serve the international arbitration community in Latin America. Since then, ITA has teamed up with leading arbitral institutions and counsel throughout Latin America to offer an annual Americas Workshop, an annual Americas Roundtable for young lawyers and variety of other activities designed to increase awareness and promote excellence in the practice of international arbitration in the region. To date, conferences have been held in Bogotá, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Panama City, and São Paulo.

In recent years, ITA's collaboration with arbitral institutions in the region has expanded to include cooperation in new areas, including membership status for such institutions within ITA and collaboration on a first of its kind survey of the institutions themselves.

Americas Initiative Leadership
	Eduardo Zuleta Chair, Americas Initiative Gómez-Pinzón Zuleta, Bogotá, Colombia
	José I. Astigarraga Vice Chair, Americas Initiative Astigarraga Davis, Miami, Florida

The Inaugural Survey of Latin American Arbitral Institutions

Parties large and small, from Latin America and beyond, have increasingly turned to Latin American and international arbitral institutions to resolve their disputes.  Local and regional arbitral institutions have multiplied in number in Latin America—leading to a proliferation of options for arbitration in the region.  Until now, no single publicly available resource has identified these institutions and their histories, commonalities and practices.

ITA’s Inaugural Survey of Latin American Arbitral Institutions was conducted during late 2010-2011 as a service to the international arbitration community, especially for those considering arbitration options in Latin America.  We anticipate that the Survey will also lead to coordination amongst arbitral institutions in the region and facilitate discussions of best practices. 

The Survey identified more than 165 arbitral institutions in Latin America as well as prominent international arbitral institutions active in the region.   Many of these institutions already have significant caseloads and many more institutions are on the rise, reflecting the emergence of an arbitration friendly culture in Latin America.  The inaugural Survey features detailed information on 30 of the institutions most active in international arbitration reporting, inter alia, their history, caseload, whether parties are public or private entities, where proceedings are administered, and whether there are arbitrator requirements. 

Organized and edited by past Americas Initiative Chair Jonathan C. Hamilton (White & Case, Washington, D.C.), the Inaugural Survey will be updated annually hereafter and maintained on this ITA website in order to serve as a reliable, readily accessible online clearinghouse of key information about arbitral institutions in Latin America.

To view the Survey, click here.

To read the Executive Summary of the Survey, click here.