The world has changed dramatically in recent years, and arbitration is changing with it. On the one hand, the institutions of international arbitration are in flux. Major arbitral institutions are undergoing processes of reform, while novel institutional arrangements are emerging as competitors to arbitration?from mediation to international commercial courts to the proposed multilateral investment court in the context of investor-state dispute settlement. On the other hand, major global upheavals like the COVID-19 pandemic are increasingly leading to demands for flexibility in dispute resolution as circumstances change?under the rubric of doctrines ranging from force majeure to exceptions clauses, to doctrines associated with the measure of damages. Questions have emerged as to how well arbitration has contended with these challenges, both in the context of commercial disputes and investor-state disputes. This conference will examine the changing face of international arbitration in changed circumstances, in comparison to existing and emerging alternatives.
