Organised by: Dispute Resolution & Arbitration Committee
Session abstract:
As the Belt and Road Initiative transcends continents to attract complex cross-border investment, this session will analyse (i) the efficacy of existing investment protection mechanisms for foreign investors through investment treaties; (ii) allowable margin for regulatory action by BRI States; and (iii) the need (if any) for harmonising divergent standards of protection in investment treaties in the context of BRI. It will also open the floor for a discussion on (iv) innovative strategies to reduce risks of investor-State disputes along the BRI, as well as (v) effective resolution of such disputes through novel solutions such as mediation, investment dispute-specific arbitration rules, and specialized courts.
s
Lars Markert
Lars is a partner in Nishimura & Asahi’s international dispute resolution department in Tokyo, Japan. He represents clients in international contentious proceedings involving post-M&A, commercial, manufacturing, construction and distribution matters, in areas such as life sciences, automotive and energy. Lars also acts as arbitrator.
He has particular experience with cases involving governments, and has advised foreign investors and states on issues of foreign direct investment and public international law, including related negotiations and investor-state disputes.
Lars is regularly recommended in legal directories for his expertise in international arbitration, and frequently writes, speaks and lectures on the subject.
Kshama Loya
Kshama A. Loya is a Leader in the International Dispute Resolution practice at Nishith Desai Associates. She focusses on international commercial arbitration and investor-State arbitration. Kshama advises and represents clients in complex cross-border commercial disputes, public and private international law disputes, civil and criminal litigation, commercial litigation and litigation arising out of international and domestic arbitration in Indian courts. She has advised on issues arising in a range of industries including Energy, Mining, Infrastructure, Construction, Manufacturing, Pharmaceuticals and Life-sciences, Funds, Finance, Travel and Transportation, Automotive, Media and Entertainment, Aviation, Advertising etc.
Kshama regularly appears in courts and tribunals in India, and acts as counsel in domestic and international arbitration proceedings. Kshama began her practice as a counsel in the Chambers of (present) Justice S.V. Gangapurwala, High Court of Bombay. She has previously worked in London on international commercial and investor-State arbitrations. She has studied Negotiation at Harvard Law School. She has also taken special courses in cross-examination in international arbitration in London, and in international investment law in Switzerland.
Kshama frequently writes for reputed international publications and speaks at national and international conferences, and. She actively engages in training and development of students in international arbitration and advocacy through various activities.
Speakers
Qian Wu
Qian Wu is a Counsel with SIAC and has administered more than 200 arbitration cases conducted under the SIAC Rules / UNCITRAL Rules. Qian is also the Assistant Editor of Asian International Arbitration Journal.
Prior to joining SIAC, Qian practiced litigation and arbitration in Beijing with a Chinese law firm.
Kyongwha Chung
Kyongwha Chung is an Of Counsel of Covington & Burling’s International Arbitration Practice Group. Ms. Chung represents both states and corporate clients in complex international disputes under the ICC, LCIA, HKIAC, SIAC, KCAB, JCAA, ICSID, and UNCITRAL rules. Her practice spans a range of jurisdictions and industries.
Ms. Chung is a regular speaker and writer on various topics in international arbitration, mediation and investment treaty disputes. She authored the Korea chapter in International Handbook on Commercial Arbitration edited by ICCA (2018), participated in the drafting process of the Korea chapter in the Asia Arbitration Handbook edited by Michael Moser (2011) and the full-length treatise on arbitration in Korea, Arbitration Law of Korea: Practice and Procedure (Juris Publishing, 2012). Ms. Chung is dual-qualified as a Korea attorney and a United States (New York) attorney.
Tony Dymond
Tony Dymond is a partner in the firm’s London and Hong Kong offices, and a member of the International Dispute Resolution Group. He is Co-Chair of the firm’s Asia Arbitration practice. His practice focuses on complex, multijurisdictional construction and engineering disputes, in both litigation and arbitration.
Mr. Dymond has advised clients in a wide range of jurisdictions, having spent the last 25 years in London, Hong Kong and Seoul. He is widely acknowledged as a leading lawyer in high-value construction and engineering disputes arising from large-scale projects, particularly in the energy and infrastructure sectors. Mr. Dymond has advised on some of the largest, most complex, market-shaping disputes in these sectors. He regularly acts on shareholder and joint venture disputes and on corporate governance disputes. He has appeared in arbitrations under the principal arbitration rules and in the English and Hong Kong courts. Recent highlights include a series of arbitrations relating to the construction of oil and gas platforms for use in deep-water operations, including drillships, semisubmersible platforms and FPSOs.
Mr. Dymond is a regular speaker at disputes conferences and contributor to various related law journals.
Mr. Dymond is consistently recognised by the legal directories as a leader in his field. He is recommended by The Legal 500 UK (2021) for his construction disputes advice, with the guide describing him as “the crown jewel of the firm’s construction practice group.” Described as “a lawyer’s lawyer,” “an exceptional legal mind,” and “thoughtful and able to reduce complex issues to their key components,” he is “one of the few lawyers who genuinely understands construction and engineering delay matters.” The guide has further hailed him a “prolific, top-class strategic thinker.” He is also recommended in Chambers UK (2021) for construction-related arbitration with commentators describing him “a true construction lawyer” who is “commercially and strategically astute.” He is said to have “a sophisticated understanding of all of the nuances of delay claims and has a decisive and efficient approach to dispute work.” Previous editions of the guide have stated that he is an “exceptionally capable” and “fantastic lawyer who puts his heart and soul into every case” and that he is “a prominent disputes specialist with strong international arbitration capabilities. He is especially active in significant energy and infrastructure construction projects both domestically and internationally, including in Latin America and the Middle East. One source commends him for being ‘a very good strategist, case manager and leader.’” In addition, he is also named by Who’s Who Legal amongst its Thought Leaders in construction and arbitration, and by Expert Guides as one of the UK’s leading construction law practitioners.
Mr. Dymond is a co-author of “Disputes across the horizon: arbitration in Qatar,” Practical Law Construction Blog (February, 2021) and “Disputes across the horizon: arbitration in the United Arab Emirates,” Practical Law Construction Blog (January, 2021). He has also co-authored a number of chapters in industry publications. These include the International Arbitration chapter in the Architect’s Legal Handbook (January, 2021); “Investment Treaty Arbitration in the Construction Sector,” and “Pricing and Payment,” two chapters in The Guide to Construction Arbitration, published by Global Arbitration Review (October, 2019); “Investment Treaty Arbitration in the Asia-Pacific,” Global Arbitration Review: The Asia-Pacific Arbitration Review (July, 2020); the Hong Kong chapter in the Global Arbitration Review publication, The Guide to Challenging and Enforcing Arbitration Awards (2019-2020); and “GAR Know-How – Enforcement: Hong Kong Chapter,” Global Arbitration Review Know-How Series (April, 2018).
Mr. Dymond was called to the Bar of England & Wales in 1993, and was admitted as a solicitor in Hong Kong in 2000 and in England & Wales in 2004.
Guilherme Rizzo Amaral
Founding partner of Souto Correa Advogados, Guilherme acts both as counsel and as arbitrator. Full Member of the Commission of the ICC International Court of Arbitration on the Belt and Road Initiative and highly involved with Asian clients and their businesses in Brazil. Legal Expert of the Chinese non-profit organization Benchmark Chambers International (Base of the Supreme People’s Court of China for Discerning Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and Foreign Law). Listed as an arbitrator at the LCIA, CIETAC and HKIAC, among other institutions. He holds a PHD from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul and is a Former Visiting Scholar at the Queen Mary University of London. Author of books and articles on arbitration.
Zhang Xi
Ms. Zhang Xi is a licensed PRC attorney and senior counsel of the Beijing Arbitration Commission/Beijing International Arbitration Center (BAC/BIAC). Ms. Zhang Xi has administered more than 700 arbitration cases since 2015 and is responsible for BAC/BIAC’s major foreign affairs activities. She has been designated as a BAC/BIAC delegate to UNCITRAL Working Group II and regularly organizes and participates in international conferences on behalf of BAC/BIAC. Ms. Zhang Xi also lectures at universities on commercial arbitration in China. Ms. Zhang Xi has an LL.M degree from American University Washington College of Law.