ArbitralWomen is pleased to share that several of our members have been appointed to the Permanent Court of Arbitration ("PCA"). Most recently, on 14 July 2020, Haiti appointed Rose Rameau, an ArbitralWomen Board member. There, she joins fellow ArbitralWomen members Eva Kalnina (appointed by Latvia on 28 March 2017), Sitpah Selvaratnam (appointed by Malaysia on 25 May 2019), and Ana Stanic (appointed by Slovenia on 6 August 2019).  The PCA was established in 1899 and has grown to be an intergovernmental organisation with 122 contracting parties.  In addition to their role in dispute resolution, Members of the PCA are part of the national groups that are entitled to nominate candidates for election to the International Court of Justice, and are also entitled to nominate candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize. For more information, go to the following links:  https://docs.pca-cpa.org/2017/07/37cde05a-current-list-annex-1-members-of-the-court-184006-v82_.pdf https://pca-cpa.org/en/about/structure/members-of-the-court/ Please join us in celebrating our members. Submitted by ArbitralWomen member Dr Katherine Simpson

In 2019 the Commonwealth Secretariat undertook a Study of International Commercial Arbitration in the Commonwealth (Study). Members of the arbitration community were invited to participate in a survey and to share their attitudes towards international arbitration and the challenges that those in the field face in their home countries, across the Commonwealth and worldwide. The survey was supplemented by interviews and discussions with roundtable groups. Of particular note, the Study includes recommendations to enhance diversity within the arbitration community, including the importance of Commonwealth jurisdictions cooperating with their respective arbitral institutions, law societies and bar councils to encourage diversity and require reporting on it. The need to consider diversity when appointing arbitrators, and ArbitralWomen’s role in providing the arbitration community with information about diverse candidates, is noted. The Study also proposes that the Commonwealth Secretariat consider launching a Commonwealth diversity pledge. The expert group overseeing the Study was led by ArbitralWomen member Professor Petra Butler and included Funke Adekoya, Gary Born, Robert Griffiths QC, Audley Sheppard QC, ArbitralWomen member Dharshini Prasad served as Executive Secretary to the Study. The Study can be found here.

The Scottish Arbitration Centre, the "home of domestic and international arbitration in Scotland", is currently conducting a search for candidates for the position of Non-Executive Chair of the Board, which will become vacant when the present Chair Brandon Malone steps down in February 2021. The successful applicant will initially take on the role of Vice Chair. The term of appointment is three years, with the potential for a second term. Applications are due by no later than 25 September 2020, although candidates are encouraged to submit their application as soon as possible! Interviews will take place on 30 October 2020. Applicants must complete the application form available here, including a supporting statement explaining why they are suitable for the role. A full specification for the role is available here. We encourage all potential applicants to carefully review the requirements for candidates and the selection process set out in the advertisement.

Criteria for candidates include:

• Knowledge and experience of arbitration
• Strong leadership and interpersonal skills to develop effective and lasting internal and external relationships
• Ability to challenge constructively and contribute to high quality decision-making within a Board or team environment
• Ability to bring together different perspectives and skills to achieve consensus through balanced discussion at senior level
• Excellent listening skills
• Ability to offer support, insight, information and guidance to others
• Ability to contribute effectively to strategic planning and risk management processes
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to build and maintain relationships with key stakeholders
• Ability to communicate clearly and effectively to a range of stakeholders
• Excellent organisational skills
• Ability to process sensitive, complex information
• Demonstrable financial acumen
• Networking skills

We encourage everyone, including ArbitralWomen members who satisfy the above criteria, to please consider applying for the position.

The Cross-Institutional Task Force on Gender Diversity in Arbitral Appointments and Proceedings is pleased to announce the release of its Report, the eighth volume of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA) Reports Series. This Cross-Institutional Task Force, assembled in 2019, brings together representatives of 18 leading international arbitration institutions, law firms and gender diversity initiatives to publish and analyze recent statistics on the appointment of female arbitrators, as well as to identify opportunities and best practices to promote gender diversity in international arbitration. Gender diversity in arbitral tribunals is increasing, with the number of female arbitrators appointed to tribunals doubling in the past four years. This increase is largely the result of the efforts of arbitral institutions to appoint more female arbitrators. However, in 2019 women only comprised just over 21% of arbitrator appointees, underlining the need for improvement in the field. This Report argues that the greatest opportunity for such improvement lies with parties and the counsel that represent them, noting that while 34% of institutional appointments and 21.5% of co-arbitrator appointments were female in 2019, only 13.9% of party-appointments were female. In addition to the social and moral obligation to address gender discrimination as part of the dispute resolution field’s broader commitment to sustainable development, gender diversity in arbitral tribunals can enhance the legitimacy of arbitration, as well as improve its procedures and outcomes. Importantly, the Report highlights potential barriers to diversity, as well as tools available to arbitration users to improve gender diversity in arbitral tribunals. These tools include: databases of qualified female candidates for counsel to choose from; advice on addressing unconscious bias; ways in which clients and funders can require diversity in international arbitration; opportunities for qualified women to promote and market their credentials; advice for less experienced female lawyers who wish to progress their careers; and advice for employers on how to grow and promote their female talent. Speaking to the collaboration of the Task Force, ArbitralWomen Member and Chair Carolyn Lamm states: “I applaud the outstanding work of the Task Force including the leading arbitral institutions worldwide, the Pledge, ArbitralWomen, Three Crowns, White & Case, Freshfields, ICCA and so many others who collaborated to prepare what is a first comprehensive Report of its kind on the progress of women in international arbitration- and which shares a vision for how we move forward. I am tremendously grateful for everyone’s efforts and am confident the Report will make a difference on this issue of importance.” The Cross-Institutional Task Force includes representatives of the following organisations: ArbitralWomen; the American Bar Association (ABA); Burford Capital; the Equal Representation in Arbitration Pledge (ERA); Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP; the German Arbitration Institute (DIS); the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC); the International Bar Association (IBA); the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID); the International Chamber of Commerce International Court of Arbitration (ICC); the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA); the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR); the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA); the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC); Three Crowns LLP; the University of Sydney; the Vienna International Arbitral Centre (VIAC); and White & Case LLP. Such representatives include ArbitralWomen members Louise Barrington, Julie Bédard, Alice Fremuth-Wolf, Lucy Greenwood, Ashley Jones, Carolyn Lamm, Noiana Marigo, Wendy Miles QC, Sylvia Noury, Nicola Peart, Mirèze Philippe, Patricia Shaughnessy and Ana Stanic. They also include Lisa Bingham, Lise Bosman, Valeria Galíndez, Sarah Grimmer, Jacomijn van Haersolte-van Hof, Jennifer Ivers, Anna Kaehlbrandt, Meg Kinnear, Roberta D. Liebenberg, Ramya Ramachanderan, Miroslava Schierholz, Stacie Strong and Aviva Will. The Task Force extends its thanks to its members listed above, the female arbitrators who agreed to be interviewed by the Task Force to provide their insights and perspectives, as well as independent arbitrator and ArbitralWomen member Lucy Greenwood and the PluriCourts Investment Arbitration Database (PITAD), who contributed data on arbitral appointments in recent years to this Report. To access the Report on Kluwer Arbitration, please click here. To access the Report on the ICCA website, please click here.

 Arbitrator Intelligence, a global information aggregator that collects and analyses critical information about international arbitrator decision making, announced on 15 July 2020 that the first Arbitrator Intelligence Reports (Reports) are now available for sale via its website. Arbitrator Intelligence, founded by ArbitralWomen member Catherine Rogers, has made its first Reports available for purchase by arbitration users. The subjects of the first Reports include a number of female arbitrators, including ArbitralWomen member Eva Kalnina, Eleonora Coelho, Ana Cecilia Mac Lean, Elisa Ortega Lopez, Mirjana Radovic and Daiga Zivtina. Commenting on the launch, Catherine Rogers said “Beyond getting their first appointments, women arbitrators still face challenges in translating successful appointments into reputations for being effective arbitrators. Our Reports will be a springboard for developing those reputations and, as a result, helping to secure future appointments.” Each Report provides arbitration users with data-driven insights into the case management skills and decision making of an individual arbitrator, enabling parties to make better informed decisions about arbitrator selection case strategy. The information contained in each report is collected by Arbitrator Intelligence from parties, internal and external counsel, and third-party funders via its anonymous questionnaire (called the “Arbitrator Intelligence Questionnaire” or “AIQ”). In 2018 ArbitralWomen and Arbitrator Intelligence co-sponsored the Campaign on Women Arbitrators, encouraging members of the arbitration community to complete an AIQ about female arbitrators. The insights provided in the resulting Reports will help to promote diversity and transparency by making information about lesser known diverse arbitrators widely available, enabling their reputations to develop. The Reports are available now. Law firms, and corporate and state users of arbitration are entitled to join Arbitrator Intelligence as members and receive significant discounts on the price of Reports in return for providing data to Arbitrator Intelligence via AIQs. Membership is free and more information is available here. Readers can help Arbitrator Intelligence to continue to provide the market with information about female arbitrators and further the cause of diversity by completing AIQs about them here.

PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION

23 June 2020

ArbitralWomen Announces Leadership for 2020-2022 Term

23 June 2020 – ArbitralWomen is pleased to announce the results of the election of its incoming Board of Directors for the 2020-2022 Term, which includes nine new members out of the 20 elected in June 2020. The incoming Board of Directors selected Dana MacGrath, Investment Manager and Legal Counsel at Omni Bridgeway in New York, to stay on as President of the Board, and Louise Woods, Partner at Vinson & Elkins in London, to assume the role of Vice President. As Vice President, Ms. Woods also will assume the role of Chair of Young ArbitralWomen Practitioners (YAWP), ArbitralWomen’s young practitioner group launched by former ArbitralWomen Vice President Gabrielle Nater-Bass.

“I am honoured to have been selected to continue to serve as President of the Board of ArbitralWomen and look forward to working with the talented and dedicated group of women elected to the 2020 Board to promote diversity in international dispute resolution,” said Ms. MacGrath. “Louise Woods is an excellent choice for Vice President. She brings years of experience on the Board as well as the Executive Committee of ArbitralWomen, having most recently served as Secretary of the Board. She is also responsible for the launch of ArbitralWomen’s Parental Mentorship Programme among her many contributions. I look forward to partnering with Louise to lead ArbitralWomen in the 2020 Term and working with such a diverse and experienced group of arbitration practitioners on the 2020 Board.”

“I am thrilled to have been selected to serve as Vice President this term and look forward to continuing the important work that ArbitralWomen does. I am joined on the Board by some very accomplished women whom I have no doubt will contribute enormously to our efforts,” said Ms. Woods.

The 2020 Executive Board also includes Gaelle Filhöl, Managing Partner at Betto Perben Pradel Filhol, who will serve as Secretary, Juliette Fortin, Senior Managing Director at FTI Consulting, who will stay on as Treasurer, Amanda Lee, Consultant at Seymours in London, who will serve as Communications Director, and co-founders Louise Barrington and Mirèze Philippe. The incoming Board members are from many countries and include arbitrators, in-house counsel, experts, practitioners and academics.

“We are proud of ArbitralWomen’s many achievements for women over the last two decades and are delighted to continue our many projects and new programmes with the incoming 2020 Board,” said Mirèze Philippe, ArbitralWomen co-founder and Special Counsel at the International Court of Arbitration of the ICC. “This is going to be a fantastic Board, with some excellent, energetic new members who have innovative ideas for our future,” said Louise Barrington, ArbitralWomen co-founder and independent arbitrator. “We thank the fine women who did not get Board seats this time for their commitment to ArbitralWomen and hope they will continue working with us and run again next term. Many thanks to the 2018 Board members who are leaving the Board for their service.”

ArbitralWomen wishes to thank the following 2018 Board members who are rotating off the Board for their hard work and dedication to ArbitralWomen’s mission to promote women and diversity in dispute resolution: Laurence Burger, Valentine Chessa, Diana Droulers, Asoid García-Márquez, Elena Gutiérrez García de Cortázar, Alexandra Johnson, Karen Mills, Marily Paralika and Ileana Smeureanu. We look forward to their continued involvement in our activities and initiatives as ArbitralWomen members. Please join us in congratulating the 2020 ArbitralWomen Board Members set out in the table below:

ArbitralWomen Board of Directors 2020-2022 Term (new members indicated by an asterisk):

Name	Nationality(ies)	City(ies) of Residence
Louise Barrington	Canadian	Hong Kong and Toronto
Affef Ben Mansour	French and Tunisian	Paris
Maria Beatriz Burghetto	Argentinian and Spanish	Paris
Elizabeth Chan *	British and New Zealander	London and Hong Kong
Gaëlle Filhol	French	Paris
Juliette Fortin	French	Paris
Cherine Foty *	American and French	Paris
Sara Koleilat-Aranjo	Lebanese and French	Abu Dhabi and Dubai
Yasmine Lahlou *	American, French and Moroccan	New York
Amanda Lee	British	London
Dana MacGrath	American	New York
Mirèze Philippe	Lebanese and French	Paris
Rebeca Mosquera *	American and Panamanian	New York
Patricia Nacimiento *	German	Frankfurt
Alison Pearsall	American	Paris
Rose Rameau *	Haitian and American	Washington D.C.
Rekha Rangachari *	American	New York
Donna Ross *	Australian and American	Melbourne
Gisèle Stephens-Chu *	British and French	Paris
Vanina Sucharitkul	Thai, French and American	Bangkok and Paris
Erika Williams	Australian	Brisbane
Louise Woods	British	London