Istanbul Arbitration Week, spanning from October 2nd-6th 2023, hosted by the Energy Disputes Arbitration Center (EDAC), brings together arbitrators from around the world to connect and share their knowledge of international arbitration from various global perspectives. The organizers, Ayse Yazir and Suleyman Bosca, did an excellent job in executing the event, taking place at the beautiful Mandarin Oriental Bosphorus, ensuring a wide variety of insightful seminars and networking opportunities to engage all who attended.
Representing the firm at the event was our Managing Partner, Roberto Pirozzi, who explained that the event panels followed a dynamic format, fostering open discussions on the many topics covered throughout the week. Roberto has outlined a few stand-out events that he attended as follows:
Construction in Arbitration: Is it a Man’s World?, a breakfast and discussion panel hosted by ArbitralWoman was an eye-opening discussion surrounding gender biases in arbitration, more specifically when dealing with matters in the construction sector. The speakers on the panel, Simel Sarialioglu, Arda Kortas, Dr. Esra Berktas, and Elif Soylemezoglu, gave testament to their personal experience in the industry, and how gender can play a big role in the handling of construction arbitration cases, and selection of an arbitrator. The panel gave both male and female perspective, citing improvements that have been made to lessen the gender divide in construction arbitration, and bringing attention to the necessary changes that still need to be made.
The discussion was continued at the proceeding event, the Woman Leaders Panel, hosted again by ArbitralWoman with the help of Networking Nuance. The six professionals sitting on the panel, Ayse Yazir, Camille Vasquez, Burcu Geris, Mahnaz Malik, Burcu Bati, and Kate McMahon, drove into woman in international arbitration more generally, providing insightful commentary on the imperative role woman in the field hold, and outlining the successes of women in leadership roles which play a crucial role in closing the gender divide in the legal field. This stand out event begged the question, what can each of us do to ensure we play our part in closing the gender division in international arbitration?
of PirozziLex at ISTAW
Borrelli following the Woman Leaders Panel
and Roberto Pirozzi
Another insightful event was The Changing Landscape in International Arbitration: Developments and Regional Perspectives with 6 speakers from across the world including Raed Fathallah, Kieran John McCarthy, Dr. Crina Baltag, Franz Schwarz, Sebastian Neave, and Yesim Bezen. Each professional gave a unique insight into the climate of international arbitration in their respective region, and how their outlook differs due to cultural, economic, and legal barriers they face. The seminar provided a well-rounded outlook on arbitration globally, highlighting why difficulties may arise when working internationally, and how to overcome those issues.
Additional events gave insight into the rise of arbitration in regions like Africa, the Middle East and across Europe, international investments, the perspective of in-house counsel in international arbitration matters, enforcement of arbitral awards, and new and emerging arbitration techniques. There were also discussions surrounding a very prominent interest of our firm, being the use of negotiation techniques in arbitration, and the necessity of those skills to ensure success.
The unique and diverse nature of the seminars and discussion topics further highlighted the challenges faced by arbitrators across the world based on differences in legal systems and cultural norms. Despite these challenges, international arbitration is a way to work through these differences, following the rule of law as a pathway to ensure fair and amicable solutions can be reached, and international business connections continue to grow with confidence. Arbitration can be seen as more than simply an effective form of dispute resolution, but also a way to connect us to the rest of the world, and ensure this connection continues to flourish.
Istanbul Arbitration Week was an amazing event, creating a great opportunity for the firm to strengthen existing relationships with good friends, and create exciting new relationships with many other incredible professionals in the arbitration world. We look forward to what the event will bring in 2024!
