This virtual session will bring together regional stakeholders to examine the current landscape of sustainable practices within arbitral institutions, highlight opportunities for improvement, and consider how the Campaign can best support institutions in their transition towards more environmentally responsible operations.
Schedules: Afternoon
Build or Break: Arbitrating Infrastructure with Money at Stake
As global capital continues to power infrastructure and construction projects across the Middle East and beyond, the disputes that follow are no longer just about defects, delays, or design flaws. They increasingly sit at the intersection of complex financing structures, sponsor-driven risk allocation, and high-stakes joint ventures — all underpinned by arbitration clauses intended to offer certainty across jurisdictions.
This AAA-ICDR panel brings together construction sector general counsel, private equity dealmakers, and arbitration experts to examine how today’s cross-border disputes are shaped as much by capital strategy as by contract performance. From fund-backed EPC arrangements and indemnity chains to multi-contract disputes and investor-state overlays, the session will explore how arbitration institutions and tribunals are adapting to a rapidly shifting landscape — and what users still want done better.
Key Discussion Points:
- What’s changing in construction disputes: new claimants, new structures, new forums
- How private equity ownership reshapes arbitration posture, evidence, and risk appetite
- ICDR insights into the international dispute resolution process
- What general counsel and funders really want from arbitrators and institutions
- Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of how dispute resolution strategy must evolve in capital-intensive infrastructure environments, and how the AAA-ICDR’s rules and practice can support effective outcomes in a high-value, multi-party context.
Building Trust in ADR Institutions: Ensuring Finality in Arbitration Outcomes
Navigating Tax & Arbitration in the India UAE Corridor: From Mutual Agreement Procedures to Bilateral Investment Treaties
A high profile Two Hours event during Dubai Arbitration Week 2025 exploring tax disputes and arbitration in the India–UAE corridor. The program addresses MAP implementation in India and the UAE, investor state disputes under the 2024 India–UAE BIT. The goal is to enhance collaboration between tax and arbitration professionals.
Change of the Seat of Arbitration Due to Substantial Change in Circumstances: Myths and Reality
This unique event offers an immersive exploration of a timely and complex issue in international
arbitration: the change of the seat of arbitration due to a substantial change in circumstances.
Moving beyond traditional presentations, we’ll show a mock arbitration proceeding centered
around a fictional dispute where this critical question arises. A panel of distinguished arbitrators
will dissect the legal and practical implications of such a change.
International Arbitration: Effective Strategies in 2025
In an era of shifting geopolitical and economic dynamics, international arbitration is entering a new phase of strategic transformation. The session will focus on the development of arbitration centers within the BRICS+ region, legal interoperability, and the prospects for a unified arbitration framework. Experts will also discuss whether a return to European arbitration centers is likely as global economic ties are restored. Representatives of leading arbitration institutions in BRICS+ countries, international lawyers, and representatives of companies’ legal departments will discuss the most pressing issues of dispute resolution in arbitration institutions in the East and Asia.
Construction: Project Management and Dispute Resolution
The event will welcome approximately 100 participants to a morning coffee, followed by a panel discussion titled Construction: Project Management and Dispute Resolution. The construction industry is inherently complex, involving high-value projects, multiple stakeholders, and intricate contractual frameworks. Effective project management is essential to preventing disputes, while timely and strategic dispute resolution helps ensure project continuity and protect commercial relationships.
This panel, held during Dubai Arbitration Week, will feature insights from seasoned construction lawyers, arbitrators, and project managers on the challenges and opportunities in today’s construction landscape. Attendees will gain practical takeaways on best practices, emerging trends, and innovative dispute resolution techniques shaping the industry in the MENA region and beyond.
The Court Practitioner’s Toolkit: How to Effectively Utilize the DIFC / ADGM Courts in International Arbitration/ Maximising financial recovery from construction claims through arbitration
This seminar will be divided into two focused sessions:
- Session 1: Enforcement of Arbitration Awards in the DIFC Courts
- Exploring recent developments in the enforcement of arbitration awards, with emphasis on Carmon v Cuenda [2024] DIFC CA 003 and other DIFC Court decisions. The session will address enforcement strategy, asset recovery, and cross-border recognition of awards.
- Session 2: Maximising financial recovery from construction claims through arbitration
- Focusing on strategic approaches to recovering financial claims in complex construction disputes. Topics include claim consolidation, procedural tactics, and the use of pleadings vs memorials.
Make Award Great Again: Rebuilding Trust in Successful Enforcement
Enforceability has historically been perceived as arbitration’s greatest advantage. Yet, in an era where the enforceability of arbitral awards faces unprecedented challenges, trust in the system’s efficacy is eroding. Delays and jurisdictional hurdles, together with arbitrary interpretations of public policy and the enactment of local legislation that allows parties to evade liability under awards, call for a concerted response from the arbitration community to ensure the sustainability of the system. The speakers will share perspectives from different jurisdictions, exchange views on current threats to enforceability, and propose legal reforms—such as the creation of new international instruments—while also discussing lessons from high-profile enforcement successes (and failures).
Moderator: Evgeny Raschevsky, Partner, EPAM Law
Speakers:
– Vladimir Talanov, Partner, EPAM Law
– Natalia Soldatenkova, Senior Associate, EPAM Law
– Ali Al Zarooni, Managing Partner, Horizons & Co
– Olga Bischof, Partner, PCB Byrne
– Abraham Vergis, S.C., Managing Director, Providence Law
– Timo Ylikantola, Partner, Ratiolex