Main Conference of RIAC 2025
The main conference of RIAC 2025 is the flagship event of the Congress, featuring world-renowned speakers. The aim of the conference is to seek answers to timeless questions of arbitration that remain relevant regardless of time, changes in legislation, or international affairs.
Participants in the conference will have the opportunity to attend four sessions.
Conference program
Session I. Cycles of Change: Eternal Questions in the Evolution of Arbitration
Recent changes have prompted lawyers to focus on new trends and issues in the field of arbitration. However, fundamental questions related to the stability and trust in the arbitration system remain overlooked; those questions that have existed for a long time. The purpose of the discussion is to immerse the audience in the doctrinal and philosophical problems of arbitration that arise when dealing with real disputes. The speakers will discuss the impact of imperative norms on arbitration, the relationship between national and international legal orders, as well as the adaptability and efficiency of the New York Convention.
Speakers:
Moderator: Yulia Mullina, Director, Russian Arbitration Center
Session II. From Implicit to Explicit: Understanding Arbitrators' Inherent Powers
The concept of inherent powers allows arbitrators to act flexibly and make necessary decisions to ensure a fair and efficient process, even if such powers are not present in the applicable law or the agreement of the parties. What decisions can arbitrators make within the framework of their inherent powers? What are their limits? During the session, speakers will reflect on how the concept of inherent powers has evolved over time and what factors influence this change, the challenges involved in defining inherent powers, how to balance the autonomy of arbitrators with the rights of the parties, and whether it is possible to limit these powers.
Speakers:
Moderator: Maxim Kulkov, Managing Partner, Kulkov, Kolotilov and partners.
Session III. Arbitration Tapestry: Crossroads for World Cultures
As part of the session, speakers from different jurisdictions will discuss the characteristics unique to each of the presented legal systems and explore the prospects for harmonious cross-cultural development of alternative dispute resolution methods. The discussion will focus on the question: is there a unified global arbitration system, or does it remain fragmented?
Speakers:
Moderator: Faris Nasrallah, Head of Arbitration, Crescent Petroleum
Session IV. Arbitration Battle: Back to the Future
The topics of the three panel sessions are interconnected by the narrative of the arbitration battle – the final session of the conference. We will travel back to the XVI century and explore a fictional dispute regarding the issues that will be addressed in the previous sessions of the conference. The events in the narrative involve a dispute between trading houses from Shaharat (a fictional state) and Rus’. The participants of the hearing must resolve two procedural questions: is it possible to change the seat of arbitration at the discretion of the tribunal, and what is the impact of imperatory rules in the case of such a relocation?
Among participants:
Terms of participation
The cost of participation in the main conference is 40 000 roubles (~400 euros). We are pleased to announce that participation in the conference will be free for in-house lawyers.
We will open the registration very soon, stay tuned!
If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact the Organiser by email: riac@centerarbitr.ru.
