New York Convention Roadshow in Tsinghua, China

ICCA Governing Board Member and expert on the New York Convention Albert Jan van den Berg traveled to China on 22-30 April to present a series of lectures, discussions and presentations in conjunction with his role as Visiting Professor of the School of Law of Tsinghua University, Beijing. The sessions were the initiative of Governing Board member Teresa Cheng, and as part of ICCA's New York Convention Roadshow initiative, Professor van den Berg led a Roundtable Discussion on 25 April with over 20 judges from the Supreme People's Court Division 4 (the Division that deals with international arbitration and enforcement of awards). The judges participated in discussions on the Convention's operation and application, as well as the enforcement of awards and the obligation to refer disputes to arbitration. Each participant received a hard copy of the Chinese/English translation of ICCA's Guide to the Interpretation of the 1958 New York Convention.

In addition to his work with local judges, Professor van den Berg participated in an event co-organised by Young ICCA, the China Britain Law Institute and the Tsinghua Law School entitled "What Does an International Arbitrator Expect from You?". With over 60 young practitioners in attendance, the lunch-time seminar included a lively discussion and question and answer session.