The International Arbitration Center of the American Chamber of Commerce of Peru (AmCham Peru) appointed new members to its Arbitration Court in December 2019, becoming the first institution in the region to have a majority of female members on its Arbitration Court. The newly constituted AmCham Peru Arbitration Court has nine members, including five women and three foreign lawyers. Women appointed to the Arbitration Court include ArbitralWomen Director Elena Gutiérrez García de Cortázar, Ana María Arrarte, Cecilia O'Neill, María Teresa Quiñones and Cayetana Aljovín, who will serve as Vice Chair of the Arbitration Court. José Daniel Amado has been appointed as Chair of the Arbitration Court. Full details are available here. Submitted by Amanda Lee, Consultant at Seymours and ArbitralWomen Director

Global Issues in Mediation, co-authored by ArbitralWomen Member Professor of Law Jacqueline Nolan-Haley at Fordham Law School together with Professor of Law Ellen E. Deason at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law and Professor of Law Mariana Hernandez-Crespo Gonstead at St. Thomas School of Law and published by West Academic Publishing, provides a comprehensive overview of key topics about resolving disputes in our global landscape. Mediation is increasingly viewed as an attractive dispute resolution option. The book covers the latest developments in mediation, cultural considerations, legal issues and regulation, ethical challenges, innovative trends and peacemaking mediation. “Through its rich compilation of scholarship, Global Issues in Mediation educates the reader about the global perspectives underpinning mediation theories, ethics and practice,” commented Professor of Law Elayne E. Greenberg, Assistant Dean for Dispute Resolution Programs, St. John's University School of Law. “As mediation becomes a dispute resolution process of choice around the globe—helping to resolve all kinds of private and public conflicts—this new book is an indispensable introduction and review of the key issues in mediation’s uses—ethics, regulation, different models of practice, cultural differences, voluntary, contractual choices and mandatory court assignments. The case studies provided in Global Issues in Mediation vividly illustrate what happens when we choose to facilitate international and intercultural negotiations in so many different parts of the world. It is a rewarding addition to the Global Issues in Law series,” commented Professor of Law Carrie Menkel-Meadow, University of California Irvine Law School. To learn more about the book, click here.

The ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR, with the support of the ICC Commission on Environment and Energy, created a task force on “Arbitration of Climate Change Related Disputes” co-chaired by ArbitralWomen member Wendy Miles together with Patrick Thieffry. This task force prepared an extensive report on resolving climate change related disputes through Arbitration and ADR. The report was launched on Thursday 28 November 2019 at an event hosted by White & Case in Paris. The purpose of the Report is to examine the role for Arbitration and ADR in the resolution of international disputes related to climate change. The Report first defines climate change related disputes (Section II), providing case studies as appropriate, and then explores current, potential use and benefits of ICC Arbitration and ADR services to resolve such disputes (Sections III and IV) and identifies six broad features that potentially enhance the existing procedures to further improve their effectiveness for resolving climate change related disputes (Section V). Click here to download the Report.

The ICCA-NYC Bar-CPR Working Group on Cybersecurity in Arbitration has just released its new Cybersecurity Protocol for International Arbitration. The protocol reflects comments from consultees across the world representing arbitral institutions, law firm arbitration practice groups, expert witnesses in arbitration proceedings and non-governmental organizations. Members of the Working Group included ArbitralWomen Members Stephanie Cohen, Hagit Elul, Lea Haber Kuck and Kathleen Paisley. Additionally, Eva Chan served as one of the Secretaries to the Working Group. The purpose of the ICCA-NYC Bar-CPR Cybersecurity Protocol for International Arbitration is to provide a framework to determine reasonable information security measures for individual arbitration matters and to increase awareness about information security in international arbitrations. Congratulations and thanks to all who contributed to this important development in international dispute resolution. The complete ICCA-NYC Bar-CPR Cybersecurity Protocol for International Arbitration can be accessed here.

Women arbitral practitioners came of age in the 21^st century. Yet it was only 100 years ago that women were first allowed to become lawyers in the UK. This December the UK celebrates the centenary of the strangely worded piece of legislation entitled the “Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919”. Rose Heilbron, my mother, was a barrister and one of the pioneers of this progression, who became a famous advocate in the middle of the last century with a string of firsts in the profession to her name, including first woman Queen’s (then King’s) Counsel and first female Senior Judge. To coincide with this centenary, “Rose QC”, the biography I wrote of her remarkable life, has just been re-issued in paperback. It chronicles the struggles she and other women had in those early days, her exhortations in favour of equality for women and how she became a trailblazer and legal icon. There are several events scheduled to coincide with this centenary. The 100 Year’s Project, a compendium of female lawyers’ achievements, is spearheading the celebrations. It can be found at https://first100years.org.uk/ with my mother’s face as the backdrop. The idea, even 70 years ago, of women in the UK practising commercial law or international arbitration or acting as international arbitrators was a bridge too far and it was only later in the last century that women began to flex their muscles in these directions. 100 years ago the world was a very different place: it was only a year after the ending of the First World War and the partial enfranchisement of women in the UK, namely those over 30. Yet, women remained strange beings in legislators’ eyes and, for example, in the Income Taxes Act of 1918 married women were deemed to be “incapacitated persons” alongside lunatics, idiots and insane persons. As barriers and disappointments still face women striving to achieve equality and success, it is worth remembering how far we have come. “Rose QC” not only narrates a remarkable life, but gives some perspective to where we are today. It was a different era, one where my mother was denied a pupillage because “Barristers have not got used to women practising at the Bar and sharing Chambers with them and feel some constraint and diffidence when a woman is in chambers”; where women could not enter a court room without wearing a hat; where they could not partake in social gatherings with male barristers because they might be shocked by the conviviality and coarse language; where talking to the Press was professional misconduct; where the timbre of women’s voices was an alleged hindrance to advocacy; and where many solicitors were reluctant to and did not brief female barristers. No equality laws, no sex discrimination laws, no maternity leave or child care facilities existed in those days. It was exclusively a man’s world. Her success in spite of such discouragement, together with the novelty in those days of being a working mother and wife, captured the public imagination leading to widespread national and international press coverage and her consequent fame. She thus became a role model for many women. The world has fortunately moved on, but some of the old problems still persist for women. What had been only aspirations in those days are now justly expectations: what was novel is now mainstream. A centenary may be a time to take stock. It is therefore heartening to read the roll call of female successes from all over the world appearing regularly in ArbitralWomen News and the ever increasing number of successful female legal practitioners not only in the arbitral world but also in other areas of law. Long may it continue. Hilary Heilbron QC, Barrister and International Arbitrator, Brick Court Chambers, London

The Swiss Arbitration Association (ASA) elected its new Board for the 2020-2022 term at its General Meeting on 13 September 2019. The new ASA Board will be composed of 11 women out of a total of 25 members as of 1 January 2020. As a result, women will constitute 44% of the ASA Board – a 16% increase in female participation. Five women have been elected to the Board for the first time, including Diana Akikol, Melissa Magliana, ArbitralWomen member Noradèle Radjai, ArbitralWomen member Dorothee Schramm and Melanie van Leeuwen. Six women have been re-elected for the term 2020-2022, including ArbitralWomen members Nadja Jaisli Kull, Gabrielle Nater-Bass and Nathalie Voser, together with Andrea Meier, Andrea Menaker and Yoshimi Ohara. Felix Dasser has been elected as president of the ASA Board for the term 2020-2022. The list of the newly elected ASA Board members can be found here.