Celebrating Canada as a Place of Arbitration 9 May 2014
12:00 pm Arrival and lunch
12:30 pm Greetings from Canadian High Commissioner
12:35 pm Welcome from Event Co-chairs – Wolf Von Kumberg, Northrop Grumman Corporation and Lisa Tomas, Arnold & Porter LLP
12:45 pm Q&A: “Why Canada?” with Yves Fortier CC, OQ, QC, Ad. E., LLD and Ian Binnie CC, QC, LLD – conducted by Lyse Doucet, BBC’s Chief International Correspondent
1:15 pm A User’s Perspective – David W. Rivkin, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
1:25 pm Practical Benefits of Arbitration in Canada - John Judge, President, Toronto Commercial Arbitration Society; Robert Volterra, Volterra Fietta
1:45 pm Observations from Global Arbitration Review – Kyriaki Karadelis
1:50 pm Closing Remarks
2:00 pm Carriages
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Why Canada?
This afternoon’s program celebrates Canada as an ideal seat for international arbitrations. There are many reasons for this, as some of Canada’s leading arbitrators and arbitration counsel will explain. In particular, Canada has both common law and civil law systems. It is a politically and financially stable country, with a fair and transparent court system and a judiciary that has demonstrated a willingness to enforce arbitration agreements and arbitral awards. Canada, with its multicultural heritage and, its reputation for fairness and neutrality, has much to offer:
Modern UNCITRAL Model Law legislation favouring arbitration
Predictable non-interventionist courts that understand and support the arbitration process
Highly regarded international arbitrators, experienced arbitration counsel and top notch experts
World class hearing facilities, notably Arbitration Place, and many other amenities
Biographies of Keynote Speakers: Yves Fortier CC, OQ, QC, Ad. E., LLD
Mr. Fortier has served as Chairman, President, Sole Arbitrator or co-arbitrator on numerous international and national arbitral tribunals, either ad hoc or constituted by different arbitral institutions, including the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (Paris), the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), the Hong Kong International Arbitration Court (HKIAC), the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC), the American Arbitration Association, the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the Zurich Chamber of Commerce, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the Canadian Commercial Arbitration Centre, the British Columbia International Commercial Arbitration Centre and the ADR Chambers International Panel. He has also served as Chairman or party- appointed arbitrator on numerous Investor-State International Tribunals. From 1984 to 1989 he was a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague. From 1998 to 2001, he was President of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA). Mr. Fortier now sits as resident arbitrator at Arbitration Place in Toronto.
From July 1988 until January 1992, Mr. Fortier served as Canada's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York. In September 1990, he was elected Vice- President of the 45th General Assembly. From January 1989 to December 1990, Mr. Fortier served as Canada's Representative on the Security Council of the United Nations and in 1989 he was President of the Council.
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Ian Binnie CC, QC, LLD
The Hon. Ian Binnie served as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada for almost 14 years. When he retired in 2011 he was described by the Globe and Mail as “arguably the country’s premier judge” and by Montreal’s La Presse as “peut-être le juge le plus influent au Canada pendant la dernière décennie”. He authored over 170 opinions on the country’s top court, including leading cases in patent interpretation and validity, protection of famous trade-marks, media law, commercial disputes, punitive damages, expert evidence, and many aspects of constitutional, criminal and administrative law. Mr. Binnie now sits as resident arbitrator at Arbitration Place in Toronto.
Mr. Binnie was called to the Ontario Bar in 1967 and argued numerous cases in most of the common law provinces and the Supreme Court of Canada. He appeared before the International Court of Justice and international tribunals. Mr. Binnie was appointed Associate Deputy Minister of Justice for Canada in 1982. In 1986 he returned to private practice until his appointment to the Supreme Court of Canada in January 1998.
Lyse Doucet
Lyse Doucet is a Canadian journalist who is the BBC's Chief International Correspondent and an occasional Contributing Editor. She presents on BBC World Service radio and BBC World News television, and also reports for BBC Radio 4 and BBC News in the UK, including reporting for Newsnight.
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