Professor Marike Patrani Paulsson, Vice Chairperson of the Bahrain Chamber for Dispute Resolution and Secretary-General of the Bahrain Council for International Dispute Resolution, lead a high-level discussion on the future of arbitration, held on the sidelines of the 27th Congress of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA) in Madrid. The session was hosted by Hawar Circle in collaboration with the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb).
The session brought together leading figures from the international arbitration community, including the drafters of the CIArb London Principles and the Hawar Principles, namely Kevin Nash, Director General of the London Court of International Arbitration; Mohamed Abdel Wahab, Judge at the Bahrain International Commercial Court; Reza Mohtashami KC, Board Member at the Bahrain Chamber for Dispute Resolution; along with Anna Joubin-Bret, Secretary of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL).
During the session, participants exchanged views on the future of dispute resolution and the practical implementation of core principles, while also discussing trends in modern arbitration and ways to advance its development. They further explored new avenues to safeguard international commercial arbitration and enhance its credibility in a rapidly evolving legal and technological environment.
The discussion built on the outcomes of the inaugural Hawar Circle meetings, which brought together representatives of the arbitration community to examine the concept of a "safe seat" in light of contemporary legal, procedural, and technological developments. Participants also addressed a number of key issues, including procedural integrity, transparency, efficiency, ethics, interim measures, sanctions, third-party funding, and legal technology, which contributed to shaping the Hawar Principles, now open for comments via the initiative's dedicated website https://hawarcircle.org/.
