Young ITA Newsletter
Issue 1 – August 2020
Welcome to the inaugural edition of the Young ITA Newsletter. Young ITA counts over 1700 members, spanning countries across the globe. This Newsletter is designed to keep us in touch, help keep you abreast of the latest developments in arbitration, and make you aware of the opportunities Young ITA has to offer. For more information about Young ITA in your region, or to find out how you can contribute to the Young ITA Newsletter and other Young ITA initiatives, please contact any of the editors or associate editors below.
Editors
- Robert Reyes Landicho (Young ITA Chair), Crina Baltag (Young ITA Vice-Chair), Catherine Bratic (Young ITA Communications Chair), Thomas Innes (Young ITA Thought Leadership Chair)
Associate Editors
- Young ITA Regional Chairs: Samuel Pape, Alexander Leventhal, Sylvia Sámano Beristain, Vinicius Periera, Andres Talavera Cano, Cameron Sim, and Demilade Elemo
Upcoming Young ITA events and opportunities
Young ITA Mentorship Program – Applications Due August 15: Young ITA’s Mentorship program is a 10-month program designed to bring together young and aspiring arbitration practitioners with leading figures in the arbitration field. The Program is hands-on, offering students and early career professionals an exceptional opportunity to glean valuable knowledge from seasoned members of the ITA, and to forge lifelong connections. Applications for this year’s Mentorship Program are due on August 15, and any Young ITA member may apply. For more information, click here.
Regional News and Updates
United Kingdom - By Eleanor Scogings (Associate, Lalive)
Arbitration in the UK is currently undergoing two noteworthy and welcome developments: (i) the new pledge for greener and more environmentally friendly arbitration; and (ii) the increased awareness of, and commitment to, diversity in arbitration in the UK.
Continental Europe - By Alexander G. Leventhal (Young ITA Chair for Continental Europe & Senior Associate, Quinn Emanuel) and Luka Groselj (Associate, Schellenberg Wittmer)
Developments in Continental Europe’s myriad jurisdictions have been many. In this brief summary, we concentrate on those in the region’s French and German speaking jurisdictions.
Mexico and Central America - By Sylvia Sámano Beristain (Young ITA Chair for Mexico and Central America & Secretary General at the Arbitration Center of Mexico), Andres Talavera Cano (Young ITA Chair for South America) and country authors as indicated below
Mexico
By The Arbitration Center of Mexico - CAM
Mexico continues on a constant path to be a recognized seat for arbitration in the region.
Brazil - By Vinicius Pereira (Young ITA Chair for Brazil & Partner, Campos Mello Advogados)
Arbitration continues its path of strong growth in Brazil. In September, the Brazilian President issued a Decree regulating arbitration of disputes involving the Public Administration related to infrastructure projects — ports, roads, railways, waterways and airports. According to the Decree, arbitration may be used by the federal government and its entities to settle disputes with infrastructure operators, such as concessionaires, permittees, lessees of public facilities, authorized entities or port operators. Disputes regarding the economic-financial balance of agreements, the calculation of indemnities arising from the termination or assignment of agreements, and alleged breaches of contractual obligations by either party may be submitted to arbitration.
South America (Spanish-Speaking Jurisdictions) - By Andres Talavera Cano (Young ITA Chair for South America) and country authors as indicated below
Argentina
By Arbitration and Mediation Business Center
We are facing an increasingly favorable context for the development and growth of ADR in Argentina. The enactment of the International Commercial Arbitration Law and recent statistics demonstrate the expansion of mediation institutes and arbitration in our country.
Asia Pacific - By Cameron Sim (Young ITA Chair for Asia & Associate, Debevoise & Plimpton) and country authors as indicated below
As arbitration continues to grow in use and popularity throughout the Asia Pacific, there have been noteworthy developments in Hong Kong, the People’s Republic of China, Singapore, and Australia.
Middle East - By Dilpreet K. Dhanoa (Young ITA Chair for the Middle East & Associate, Squire Patton Boggs)
2019 was an exciting year for the Middle East region. Arbitration continues to grow from strength to strength, and in the fifth iteration of Dubai Arbitration Week which took place from 17-21 November 2019 the success has been even more pronounced.
The DIFC-LCIA and DIAC continue to be popular institutions to settle disputes in the UAE, and the ADGM Arbitration Centre (which partnered with the ICC) opened on 17 October 2018. The number of arbitrations now seated and/or located in the region has grown exponentially, and a number of steps have been taken by several countries to ensure that the region is seen as an arbitration-friendly forum.
Africa - By Demilade Isioma Elemo (Young ITA Chair for Africa) and contributions from Busola Bayo-Ojo (Abuja, Nigeria) and Jaqueline Chantelle Santos Ruas Baessa Pinto (South Africa)
The African Continental Free Trade Agreement: The most significant development on the African continent right now is the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). Coming into force on 30th May 2019, the Agreement seeks to create a single market for goods and services, facilitated by movement of persons in order to deepen the economic integration of the African continent.
Job Postings
The job postings below are provided by #CareersInArbitration, a resource for finding and posting jobs in the arbitration field. #CareersInArbitration regularly posts openings on their LinkedIn and Twitter pages. If you have a job posting that you would like to share with Young ITA members, please email Young ITA Thought Leadership Chair Thomas Innes (tinnes@steptoe.com).
Meet a Young ITA Member
Subhiksh Vasudev
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLPParis, France
How did you get involved in arbitration?
Answer: As a law student, I was drawn into international law moot courts, primarily due to my university's poor track record in those competitions. I took it as a personal challenge and we became the first team ever from my university to qualify for the global rounds of the Jessup moot court in 2010. While this gave me great personal satisfaction, I felt there was room for improvement. I decided to further explore international law and to find an opportunity to moot again. It was in April 2010 that I came across the FDI International Arbitration Moot and with the help of another friend, we registered for the competition. This is how I first got involved with arbitration.
I was fascinated by the procedural and substantive aspects of investment arbitration and more importantly, by the style and level of the written and oral advocacy in international arbitration proceedings. The sophistication of international arbitration was also very appealing and after our efforts yielded a successful performance in the competition, I was confident of taking that experience and applying it to my future arbitration practice in India.