Summer Academy | International Arbitration in Russian and the CIS

The Russian Arbitration Center held the first Summer Academy "International Arbitration in Russia and the CIS" from 5 to 10 August 2019. The Academy received 75 applications, of which 20 were selected (from Minsk, Moscow, Omsk, St Petersburg and Vladivostok). In order to be selected for the Academy, candidates were required to have at least 2 years of work experience and an interest in the field of dispute resolution. Additionally, candidates were asked to give detailed answers to two questions: professional background and ADR trends in Russia and the CIS.

The lectures and practical sessions were given by well-known experts in arbitration and ADR, partners and associates of major Russian and foreign law firms: E. Mazetova, M. Galperin, Y. Kalish, Y. Babichev, R. Zaitsev, D. Mr. Parhaev, A. Yadykin, A. Panov, A. Dudko, E. Chilikov, D. Andreev, E. Vanas-Metzler, D. Kaisin, A. Grishchenkova, K. Udovichenko, N. Gulyaeva, G. Lambrou, S. Alekhin, I. Rachkov, N. Kislyakova, M. Zhurova, E. Kuznetsov and S. Morozov. Also, several master classes were given by representatives of the Russian Arbitration Center, Andrey Gorlenko, Executive Administrator, and Martin Kroll, Legal Counsel.

The Academy's speakers covered a wide range of topics related to arbitrability of disputes, drafting arbitration agreements and mediation. Natalia Gulyaeva (Hogan Lovells) gave a lecture on IP arbitration, while Anna Grischenko (KIAP Law Firm) covered the selection and appointment of arbitrators and work with evidence and experts in international commercial arbitration.

Several master classes were held in English. For instance, Elisabeth Vanas-Metzler, Deputy Secretary General of VIAC, spoke about the activities of the Vienna International Arbitration Centre (VIAC), which has recently obtained the right to administer arbitration in Russia. George Lambrou (Keystone Law) compared common and civil law approaches to international arbitration.

At the conference "Arbitration in the CIS" seven foreign arbitration experts discussed recent trends and peculiarities of arbitration development in the CIS countries: Maria Zhurova (Danilevich Law Office, Belarus), Andrey Bychkov (Ilyashev & Partners, Ukraine), Sofi Tkemaladze (Georgian Association of Arbitrators, Georgia), Mushegh Manukyan (Three Crowns (USA), Armenia), Eduard Kuznetsov (Marine Legal Bureau, Latvia), Natalia Alenkina (American University of Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan) and Denis Parkhaev (Motieka & Audzevicius, Lithuania).