Preventing Disputes Before They Arise: Strategic Tools in Investment and Commercial Arbitration

Presentation

This conference examines innovative and regional approaches to preventing investor-state and commercial disputes before they escalate, bringing together leading scholars and practitioners to explore strategic tools ranging from commercial mediation and dispute avoidance protocols to the Singapore Convention and mandatory mediation mechanisms across diverse legal traditions in Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Central Asia. The discussion will also cover the challenges and opportunities associated with these tools, contributing to a deeper understanding of dispute prevention mechanisms and proposing ways to enhance their effectiveness and broader global adoption.

Programme:

23 March 2026 | 10:30 to 12:30 | White&Case 19 Pl. Vendôme 75001 Paris

Welcome remarks: Ms. Nataliia Tuzheliak (Associate, White&Case)

Introduction: Dr. Yulia Levashova (Associate Professor, Nyenrode University)

Panel I – Innovative Approaches to Dispute Prevention in Investment and Commercial Arbitration

Moderator: Dr. Yulia Levashova (Associate Professor, Nyenrode University)

1. The Binding Nature of Mediation Clauses and the Role of Multi-Tier ADR Mechanisms in Dispute Prevention
Mr. Marc Krestin (Partner, Fieldfisher)

2. Awakening Mediation: A Sleeping Beauty in Investment Disputes
Ms. Agata Zwolankiewicz (Associate, Addleshaw Goddard / Researcher, KU Leuven)

3. Keeping Construction Projects on Track: The Present and Future of Dispute Adjudication Boards
Ms. Nataliia Tuzheliak (Associate, White&Case)

4. The Strategic Use of Counterclaims as a Dispute Prevention Mechanism
Prof. Kamalia Mehtiyeva (Professor of Law at the University of Paris-Est Créteil (France), Arbitrator and Counsel)

5. Dispute Prevention Mechanism at ICC
Dr. Hélène van Lith (Secretary to the ICC Commission on Arbitration & ADR International Court of Arbitration, ICC Mediation)

Coffee Break

Panel II – Regional Perspectives on Dispute Prevention in Investment and Commercial Arbitration

Moderator: Ms. Anna Guillard Sazhko (Independent Counsel and Arbitrator, Turkic Arbitration Association)

1. Prevention and Settlement of Disputes in Private and Public Sectors in Latin America
Mr. Eric Franco (Partner, Legal Delta)

2. Dispute Prevention in AIFC Court and IAC
Mr. Christopher Campbell-Holt (Registrar and Chief Executive of the AIFC Court and IAC, AIFC Court and IAC)

3. Dispute Prevention Mechanisms in Central Asia: Institutional Innovations and Regional Practices
Dr. Saltanat Imanova (American University of Central Asia)

4. Building an Effective Framework for Preventing and Resolving Disputes: The Experience of Uzbekistan
Ms. Diana Bayzakova (Director, Tashkent International Arbitration Centre)

Concluding Remarks and Reflections
Ms. Laure Jacquier (Director of ICC Netherlands)

Networking