The ICCDR Forum combines topical issues of substantive law with questions of international arbitration. It is directed at arbitration practitioners and academics, both from Austria and abroad, and is fast becoming a permanent fixture in the arbitration landscape of the CEE region, as was also noted by Dean of the Faculty, Prof Christoph Bezemek at the start of the conference. Unsurprisingly the light of current events, this year’s conference took place under the ‘International Arbitration in Challenging Times’ motto.

In his impressive keynote address, Prof Georges Affaki (University of Paris Assas and International Arbitrator) referred to the history of economic sanctions from antiquity up to our own century, with the sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s war in Ukraine being only the last episode. Justice Erich Schwarzenbacher (Oberster Gerichtshof, Vienna) gave a comprehensive outline of Austrian case law in respect of the theory of Wegfall der Geschäftsgrundlage. Case law is of particular relevance in this respect in Austria, due to the lack of dispositive statutory rules on the matter.

In the afternoon session, Nikolaus Pitkowitz (VIAC President and Pitkowitz & Partners) touched upon current challenges for arbitral institutions, referring in particular to the increasing complexity of cost issues, the need to guarantee full arbitrator independence, and transparency. Karl Pörnbacher (Head of Dispute Resolution with Hogan Lovells, Munich) gave a lively account of how disruption is currently impacting M&A transactions. Although corporations dealt with the COVID-19 crisis relatively effectively, Pörnbacher noted that he has been experiencing a wave of post-M&A disputes as a consequence of the disruption of supply chains and inflation.

Lastly, Prof Veronika Korom (ESSEC Business School, Paris) dealt with the causes and consequences of the current disruption in the energy sector, and in particular the decarbonisation of energy supplies which is one of the biggest factors impacting the energy sector in Europe.

In his closing statement, Christian Aschauer observed that arbitration practitioners and their clients seem to have always been on the receiving end of geopolitical disruption, asking the question whether they should become more proactive as (corporate) citizens, in an effort to avoid disruption for the future.

The following ICCDR Conference will presumably take place in the second quarter of 2024.

More details are available here.