Efficient dispute resolution mechanisms, a necessity in Romania, ICC conference concludes

During the first ICC conference on international arbitration organized in Romania, various dispute resolution mechanisms aimed to ensure both the continuous execution of works and an efficient resolution of the dispute were presented. Throughout the conference, various study cases were discussed, as well as the stages per se that such situations in Romania should take in order to reach the Arbitral Tribunal.

Romania has often requested the aid of the International Court of Arbitration in the last year and the economic crisis is one of the reasons behind this increase. Thus it appears that 2009 saw 53 Romanian parties as claimants in such cases of arbitration and that most of the issues addressed were in the construction field.

During the conference, Alina Leoveanu, Deputy Counsel at the ICC International Court of Arbitration, underlined the importance of every aspect of dispute resolution services, from the place and language of arbitration to the filling of the Answer to the Request for Arbitration, during the “Initiating the arbitration under the ICC Rules” session. “No party or legal consultant should underestimate the importance of the first procedural stages which need to be covered before the constitution of the Arbitral Tribunal on the basis of the ICC rules”, concluded Leoveanu.

Emmanuel Jolivet, General Counsel of the ICC International Court of Arbitration explained what the specifics of the Rules of the ICC Commission for Conflict Resolution consist in, including the three types of commissions that authors of construction contracts may address. His presentation, “The role of dispute boards and the ICC System for dispute boards”, also referred to the context and manner in which such commissions may be utilized.

Among the speakers at the conference, were also Viorel Mihai Ciobanu, President of the Court of International Commercial Arbitration, attached to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Romania, Ioana Hrisafi, partner at Tuca Zbarcea & Asociatii, Andreia Oana Dumitrescu, partner at Dragne & Asociatii, Jane Davies-Evans, Counsel at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Roman A. Mallman, Principal Associate at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Philip Dunham, Partner at Dechert LLP Paris, Boris Kasolowsky, partner at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Ion Dragne, Managing Partner at Dragne & Asociatii, Robert Rosu, Partner at Tuca Zbarcea & Asociatii, Cornel Popa, Partner at Tuca Zbarcea & Asociatii.

The first Efficiency of Complex Dispute Resolution Clauses in the Current Economic Climate conference in Romania was held by The International Court of Arbitration in Paris and law firm Tuca Zbarcea & Asociatii, together with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Dragne & Asociatii. Business Review was a media partner at the event.