Edinburgh, St Andrews, London, Hamilton, Cupar, Singapore....

What’s this?   The list of forthcoming gigs for your favourite rock band?  Well no.....it’s the ‘International Arbitration Tour’ (as it has become known at Young & Partners) that Iain K Clark, Solicitor Advocate has been undertaking over the last few weeks on International Arbitration.

Commenting on the ‘tour’ so far (see below), Iain said “It is an exciting time in Scotland right now, following the Arbitration (Scotland) Act 2010 coming into force on 7 June 2010, and that’s why I have been so busy in getting the message out to businesses, large and small, that there are so many more opportunities opening up for arbitration to be used as a preferred means of dispute resolution.  The flexibility of arbitration means that it can be used to resolve anything from simple contractual disputes over supply of goods and services to complicated, high value, commercial transactions.

Also, we expect increased interest by businesses in Scotland, and throughout the UK, in the use of International Commercial Arbitration for resolving transnational disputes, particularly with the significant benefits of speedy recognition and enforcement of Awards internationally in any one of the 144 countries who are signatories to the New York Convention.”

The ‘tour’ dates so far have been:

23 June 2010, Edinburgh
Iain was co-organiser and speaker at an international conference organised in conjunction with the Law Society of Scotland, the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh Centre for Commercial Law, the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, the Faculty of Advocates, and in association with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, and presented by some of the leading practitioners in Scotland and worldwide, to welcome the commencement of the Arbitration (Scotland) Act 2010.

30 August to 3 September 2010, St Andrews
In his capacity as member of the Global Academic Faculty, and Course Director and Visiting Lecturer at the Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law Practice (CEPMLP) at the University of Dundee, Iain co-presented a 5 day Conference: “An Introduction to International Commercial Arbitration”.  Delegates came from around the world to the Old Course Hotel, St Andrews from Kazakhstan, England, Ghana, Uganda, Nigeria, Malaysia, to name just a few of the countries represented.  They were provided with detailed teaching about how to prepare for and conduct International Commercial Arbitrations, with the focus being on practical experience, including a full case study, concluding with a mock international commercial arbitration, chaired by Iain as Arbitrator.

6 to 10 September 2010, London
Again, working in his capacity as Course Director at the CEPMLP, Iain co-presented a 5 day conference: “Natural Resources International Arbitration and Advocacy Skills”.  This time teaching was provided on both International Commercial Arbitration and International Investment Arbitration, the focus being on the natural resources sector.  Delegates ranged from other international arbitration practitioners to in-house counsel and other senior managers from some of the World’s leading natural resources multinationals, travelling from as nearby as France and the Netherlands, to as far away as Russia, Nigeria, Ghana, and Argentina.  Set in the historical surroundings of the Parliament Chamber, Middle Temple, there were a variety of different presentations relevant to the natural resources industry, including highlighting the pitfalls that can arise due to the subtleties of arbitration law and the complexities of natural resource contractual provisions and disputes, and ways to avoid them; exploring how to exploit the arbitration, mediation and other dispute resolution processes to best advantage; current issues in Investor-State Arbitration; and practical advocacy skills workshops, including how tactics and presentation skills in preparing and filing documentation in international arbitrations, and honing cross examination skills.

15 September 2010, Hamilton
16 September 2010, Cupar
In partnership with Neil Stevenson of the Law Society of Scotland, John Campbell QC and Steven Walker, Advocate and Barrister, these Arbitration Roadshows were an opportunity for Iain and his colleagues to take the message about the new Scottish Act to practitioners at the grass roots, who might never have considered arbitration or international arbitration as a means of dispute resolution.  Those in attendance were given an outline of the key provisions of the Act, practical examples of how arbitration could be utilised by clients in a variety of situations from the small building works dispute in someone’s home to disputes in relation to short assured tenancies; and from the agricultural industry to the manufacturing, engineering and energy sectors - both at home and internationally, and in summary they were encouraged to THINK BIG!.

18 to 22 April 2011, Singapore
Following the success of the recent conference in London, Iain is scheduled to present a 5 day conference on Natural Resources International Arbitration and Advocacy Skills in Singapore with the CEPMLP and other partners in Singapore, including the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC).  If you want more information or are interested in booking to attend this Conference, please click here.