The Second Annual Armenian International Arbitration Week in Yerevan

The conference aims to bring together leading experts in arbitration, including lawyers, academics, business representatives, and other stakeholders, to discuss key issues such as navigating opportunities and challenges in developing economies, technologies shaping the future of arbitration, collaborative assistance or intrusive intervention, and whether mediation could supersede arbitration or emerge as a formidable competitor.

The official opening of the conference was conducted by the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Armenia, Grigor Minasyan, who welcomed the participants and emphasized the importance of the event, as well as the ongoing efforts aimed at improving the ADR system in the Republic of Armenia. Following this, Vassilis Maragos, Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Armenia, delivered welcoming remarks, highlighting the value of such events, the importance of the rule of law (ROL), and the need to keep pace with international legal developments. John J. Allelo, Director of USAID’s Mission in Armenia, addressed the importance of organizing major professional conferences as a means of maintaining public awareness. UNDP Resident Representative in Armenia, Natia Natsvlishvili, spoke about the importance of arbitration and emphasized the progress achieved by AMCA.

The opening ceremony was followed by the conference’s keynote address. Grant Hanessian, the conference’s keynote speaker and President of the AMCA Arbitration Council, welcomed the participants and discussed the importance of the independence and impartiality of arbitrators, specifying when and how circumstances that may call their independence and impartiality into question should be disclosed. He also addressed developments in the field of arbitration in Armenia and the activities of AMCA. After the keynote address the main Conference held with 4 sessions, in which more than 20 local and international speakers were included.

Arbitration Week concluded with 8 side events dedicated to developmental issues of arbitration and mediation.