About the Seminar:

The SIArb is honoured to host a panel of speakers comprising some of Asia’s most active and eminent arbitrators. The seminar will discuss the issue of Conflicts of Interest in International Arbitration against the context of a rise in incidence of challenges against arbitrators, particularly in the field of investment treaty arbitration but also in general commercial arbitration.

David Williams QC will deliver a presentation on the underlying principles of the 2004 IBA Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest in International Arbitration and an update on some interesting recent cases. His presentation will also consider how the IBA Guidelines may be relevant in relation to Singapore law.

This would be followed by a panel discussion and Q&A led by Michael Hwang SC, joined by eminent arbitrators Bernard Hanotiau and former Pakistan Attorney-General Makhdoom Ali Khan.

- Programme - 

6.00pm  Registration and Coffee

6.30pm  Introduction by Michael Hwang SC

6.40pm  Presentation by David Williams QC

7.10pm  Remarks by Bernard Hanotiau and Makhdoom Ali Khan

7.30pm  Panel Discussion and Q&A

8.00pm  Closing Remarks

8.10pm  Networking and Refreshments

About the Speaker:

DAVID WILLIAMS QC has over 30 years' experience as counsel in commercial litigation before New Zealand and overseas Courts, Tribunals and Arbitral Tribunals. He has acted as counsel in over 100 cases before the New Zealand Court of Appeal and in numerous New Zealand cases heard in the Privy Council, London, England. Based on this extensive and broad-based commercial litigation background and after serving as a Justice on the High Court of New Zealand he has developed a strong emphasis on international commercial arbitration and international law.

Who's Who Legal (2005) listed David Williams QC as one of the world's outstanding commercial arbitrators. In 2007 Global Arbitration Review listed him as one of London's "super arbitrators". The 2008 Chambers UK Guide stated that "... interviewees conveyed admiration at David Williams QC's judgment, handling of parties and ability to keep arbitral proceedings moving." Who's Who Legal 2008 said in the English section that "David Williams QC of Essex Court Chambers is many peoples Chairman of choice at the moment. Williams is a New Zealander but runs his arbitration work from Europe. He is well organised and very bright". Who's Who Legal 2009 said in the Arbitration section of New Zealand that "David Williams is number one in the country". Who's Who Legal 2010 in listing worldwide leaders in international commercial arbitration said that David Williams QC is "in a league of his own in New Zealand."

 BERNARD HANOTIAU is a member of the Brussels and Paris bars. Since 1978, Bernard Hanotiau has been actively involved in international commercial arbitration as party-appointed arbitrator, chairman, sole arbitrator, counsel and expert in various parts of the world. In 2001, he established in Brussels a boutique law firm concentrating on international arbitration and litigation. He is also a professor at the Law School of Louvain University where he teaches international arbitration. Mr. Hanotiau has a PhD from Louvain University and an LLM from Columbia University (1973). He is a Council member of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA), Council member of the ICC Institute and member of the ICC International Arbitration Commission. He is also Vice-President of the LCIA Court, of CEPANI (Belgian Arbitration Center) and of the Institute of Transnational Arbitration (Dallas). He is a member of the International Arbitration Club (London) and served as chairman of the Club of International Arbitrators (Milan). He is also a member of the board of editors of International Business Law Journal (Paris), of The American Review of International Arbitration, of the Revista de Arbitragem e Mediação (Brazil) and of the Journal of International Arbitration and past co-chair of Committee D (Arbitration) of the IBA. He has written a major treatise on Complex Arbitrations (Complex Arbitrations: Multiparty, Multicontract, Multi-issues and Class Actions Kluwer, 2006) and more than 120 articles, most of them relating to international commercial law and arbitration, and he frequently lectures on this topic.

At the 2011 Global Arbitration Review (GAR) Awards in Seoul, Bernard Hanotiau was selected by peers in the global arbitration community as Arbitrator of the Year and, in 2010, he delivered the Herbert Smith-Singapore Management University inaugural Asian Arbitration Lecture in Singapore.

MAKHDOOM ALI KHAN was the Attorney General of Pakistan from 2001 to 2007, during which time, he advised the Government of Pakistan on all the international arbitrations in which it was involved, including ICC and ICSID cases. He is the author of the Recognition and Enforcement (Arbitration Agreements and Foreign Arbitral Awards) Ordinance 2005, by which the New York Convention was incorporated into the laws of Pakistan. He also authored the Arbitration (International Investment Disputes) Ordinance 2007, to implement the ICSID Convention. Makhdoom headed a sub-committee on adopting and adapting the UNCITRAL Model Law, with emphasis on adequate safeguards against inappropriate judicial intervention. He is a former member of the Law Reforms Commission of Pakistan and former ex-officio Chairman of the Pakistan Bar Council.

Makhdoom Ali Khan read law at the Universities of Karachi, Cambridge and the LSE. He has taught commercial, constitutional and public international law in England and was a Professor of Constitutional Law and Public International Law at the University of Karachi. He is a Barrister of Lincoln's Inn and has been an advocate of the High Courts of Pakistan since 1977. He is also a Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, appearing in a large number of landmark cases. Since returning to private practice, Makhdoom Ali Khan handles a blend of commercial and constitutional litigation as counsel, and enjoys a particularly strong standing in the international arbitration sphere where he also sits as arbitrator. 

About the Chairman:

MICHAEL HWANG SC was educated at undergraduate and postgraduate levels at Oxford University where he was a college scholar and prizewinner. He was called to the Singapore Bar in 1968, when he joined Allen & Gledhill, now Singapore’s largest law firm. He became a partner in 1972 and retired from the firm at the end of 2002 after serving as Head of its Litigation and Arbitration Department for 10 years. He served as a Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court from 1991 – 1992, and was one of the first twelve Senior Counsel of the Supreme Court of Singapore in 1997. Michael now practices as a Barrister, primarily servicing lawyers as Independent Counsel and Arbitrator. He has lectured and written extensively on international arbitration and mediation. He is active in domestic and international disputes (under ICC, CIETAC, UNCITRAL, LCIA, ICSID, AAA, BANI and SIAC Rules) as counsel and arbitrator as well as mediator. Michael is a former Vice Chairman of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), a former Vice President of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA), a former member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) and a former Court Member of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA). He has also served as a United Nations Compensation Commissioner and a Vice-Chair of the International Bar Association’s Arbitration (IBA) Committee. In 2010 Michael was appointed as the Chief Justice of the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts, having served as Deputy Chief Justice since 2005. 

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