From Disparity to Clarity: Redefining the Conflict-of-Laws Landscape in International Arbitration
Plenary Panel V
Conflict-of-laws issues demonstrate significant challenges in international arbitration, including diverging rules, approaches and methodologies, a disconnect between theory and practice, and a focus on specific jurisdictions, which inhibit the emergence of global solutions. The ILA Committee on Conflict-of-Laws Issues in International Arbitration seeks to study the current issues and develop practical conflict-of-laws principles to provide guidance, promote uniform and efficient decision making by arbitral tribunals and state courts, and enhance legal certainty for parties and practitioners. The panel will present first results of a comprehensive conflict-of-laws questionnaire encompassing well over 20 jurisdictions worldwide.
Convenor
Nikolaus Pitkowitz is founding partner and head of the Dispute Resolution practice of Pitkowitz & Partners and a world-leading arbitration practitioner. He has acted as counsel or arbitrator in over 140 international disputes across Europe, the Americas and Asia in a wide range of industries. Nikolaus Pitkowitz served as president of the Vienna International Arbitral Centre (VIAC) and regularly sits as arbitrator under the rules of all leading arbitration institutions. He is a Court Member of CIMAC, Casablanca and Co-Chair of the ILA Committee on Conflict-of-Laws Issues in International Arbitration. He holds law degrees from University of Vienna (JD and PhD) and the University of Sankt Gallen (MBL), is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb) and certified as a mediator.
Panelists
Mariel Dimsey is an independent arbitrator based in Hong Kong. She is a past Secretary-General of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre and was Managing Partner of CMS Hong Kong and Head of the CMS APAC Arbitration team. Mariel Dimsey has over 20 years' experience acting as adviser and advocate in numerous international arbitrations, including IP, construction and infrastructure, foreign investment, post-M&A, automotive, aircraft, supply chain, pharmaceutical, and sales and distribution disputes. She has particular expertise in disputes involving China and APAC, and acts in both common law and civil law disputes, having worked in Germany for a decade earlier in her career. She also sits regularly as arbitrator and has experience as arbitrator under the HKIAC, ICC, KCAB, and DIS Rules, and in ad hoc disputes. She is on the arbitrator panels of several institutions. She is admitted to practice law in Australia and Hong Kong.
Christian Koller is a professor and Vice Dean and Study Program Director at the University of Vienna and was formerly a professor at the University of Innsbruck. His academic background includes serving as a Post-Doctoral Researcher and Erwin-Schrödinger-Fellow at the University of Zurich from 2009 to 2011. Christian Koller specializes in international commercial arbitration and litigation. His main areas of interest include domestic and international civil procedure and its interfaces with private law, as well international insolvency law, conflict of laws and comparative law.
Matthias Lehmann is a full professor for private law, private international and comparative law at the University of Vienna. He is interested in conflicts of laws and comparative law issues and international arbitration and litigation. He has published numerous articles and books, and is teaching as a guest professor at Sorbonne University (France), the University of Fribourg (Switzerland), and National University Singapore. Matthias Lehmann has taught and published a course at the Academy of International Law in The Hague. He is a member of the European Law Institute, the American Law Institute, the Academia Europaea, and the International Academy of Comparative Law. Matthias Lehmann has participated in the European Commission's Expert Group on Conflict of Laws Regarding Securities and Claims, and in various working groups of UNIDROIT and HCCH, inter alia on digital assets, digital tokens and verified carbon credits.
Wendy Lin is the Head of the Asset Recovery & International Enforcement Practice, Deputy Head of the Commercial & Corporate Disputes Practice, and a Partner in the International Arbitration Practice, of WongPartnership LLP. Her expertise includes high-value, multijurisdictional and complex commercial, fraud and asset recovery disputes before the Singapore Courts and before arbitral tribunals. Beyond her role as counsel, Wendy LIN regularly sits as arbitrator in cases administered by the SIAC, ICC, and HKIAC. Wendy LIN is Co-Chair of the ILA Committee on Conflict-of-Laws Issues in International Arbitration and Regional Representative South East Asia of the International Bar Association Asset Recovery Committee. She served as Co-Chair of YSIAC from 2019 to 2024.