CDR's annual Spring Arbitration Symposium reaches its fifth year, and assesses the state of the market going forward into 2018, looking at the latest legal, and procedural developments in this area, while also assessing the state of the market in the key business sectors and leading arbitral jurisdictions, as the latest news on the hot topics and current cases in international arbitration, as well a look at specialist areas, and dispute management opportunities.

Manuel Casas kicked off the day. He covered Latin America on the “Regional trends in international arbitration” session. He was alongside partners from Clyde & Co (Paris), Norton Rose Fulbright (Moscow and London) and Norburg & Scherp (Stockholm). Mr. Casas talked about the recently unveiled "Agreement in Principle" between the EU and Mexico regarding an updated Free Trade Agreement that would substitute investment arbitration with an investment court, the impact that such a change could have in NAFTA, the proposed reforms to the Argentinean arbitration laws, and recent ICSID cases against Colombia arising out of reductions to mining concessions.‎ 

Later in the day, Daniel Costelloe chaired a session titled “Answering expectations in investment arbitration,” in which recent developments in international investment arbitration and current trends at major investor-state arbitral for a were discussed. The speakers considered among other things proposals for a multilateral investment court, the effects of Brexit for the UK's investment treaties and treaty practice concerning the meaning of fair and equitable treatment. Partners from Boies Schiller (London) and Herbert Smith Freehills (London) were on the panel, alongside Dr Orsolya Toth from the University of Nottingham and Sudhanshu Swaroop QC from 20 Essex Street.