ArbDB Chambers, the leading international chambers of third party neutrals, with a presence in London, Dubai, Singapore and the United States is delighted to announce that Marieke Witkamp has accepted an invitation to join Chambers.

Marieke Witkamp is an international arbitrator, who has worked on three Continents as an arbitrator and previously as a Commercial Judge in the Netherlands and as Counsel. Marieke is a Dutch National, now based in Houston, Texas and is licensed by the Texas Bar. Marieke has also worked in Qatar.

Marieke is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb) and holds the CIArb Diploma in International Maritime Law, as well as an LLM in Dutch and US Law. Marieke’s areas of expertise include maritime, insurance, construction, energy law and M&A disputes. She has sat as sole arbitrator, emergency arbitrator and mostly as chair of arbitral tribunals.

Marieke will now be practising as a full time independent Third-Party Neutral through ArbDB Chambers.

Tony Marks, the Chair of ArbDB Chambers, commented:

“We are delighted to welcome Marieke as a Member of ArbDB Chambers. Marieke is already a distinguished arbitrator. We look forward to working with Marieke further to develop her arbitration practice internationally. This continues to build our strong team of multi-professional arbitrators, adjudicators and mediators in ArbDB Chambers ”.

Marieke can be contacted for appointments through the Clerk to ArbDB Chambers, Martin Poulter, martin.poulter@arbdb.com and tel: +44 (0)203 514 9020.

ArbDB Chambers Member, Robert Sliwinski, Chair UAE Branch of CIArb, is speaking at Doha Arbitration Day on Thursday 25th April 2024 during a session titled " Broadening Horizons: Contemporary Approaches in ADR,"

Robert is also speaking at the Pakistan International Disputes Weekend 2024 on 12th May on the subject of “ADR Capacity Building: Training and Education Discussing the role of training and education in enhancing ADR capacity in the region – cross border trainings”

Please contact Clerk to Chambers – Martin Poulter – about Robert’s availability for appointments on 0203514 9020 or by email: martin.poulter@arbdb.com

ArbDB Chambers Member, Stephen Bate has been reappointed to the Sport Resolutions Panels of Arbitrators and Mediators.

In addition, Michael Cover has been accepted to join the International Mediation Panel of the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board (KCAB) International, having already joined their Panel of International Arbitrators in June 2022.

The novel dispute avoidance/conflict management scheme for sustainable development projects which ArbDB Chambers Member, Mark Appel, developed with others, including our former colleague, Wolf von Kumberg, ( see  https://www.carohadac.org/services/conflict-management-committee.html?langue=en ) has been short-listed for the 2023 GAR Innovation Award.

Our understanding is that the Awards will be announced during Paris Arbitration Week which starts 18th March 2024.

The Conflict Management Committee scheme is a novel process, which combines classical dispute avoidance approaches with, for the first time, the interests of not just employers and contractors but also local stakeholders. This should be particularly effective where there are significant local and environmental impacts. ArbDB Chambers Members, John Wright and Michael Cover were involved in the peer reviewing of this novel scheme.

ArbDB Chambers Member – Michael Cover - has been speaking at the Dispute Resolution Board Foundation Central and Eastern European Conference in Sofia 14 and 15 March 2024

Michael Cover was speaking at the Conference on the first day, focusing on the needs and interests of users of the Dispute Avoidance and Adjudication Boards.  

Michael was part of a distinguished Panel on Top 5 Guidelines on Drafting Position Papers.

Here is a link to the conference programme:

https://www.drb.org/2024-03-ceec-2024-sofia-program

ArbDB CHAMBERS MEMBER TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE DISPUTE RESOLUTION BOARD FOUNDATION SUSTAINABLE WEBINAR SERIES, “DISPUTE AVOIDANCE AND RESOLUTION IN ENERGY TRANSITION PROJECTS”

ArbDB Chambers Member, Michael Cover, is a contributor to this webinar on 29 February 1300 hrs UTC (1300 hrs UK Time).

We look forward to seeing you on this webinar.

Click to register

CIArb has successfully retained its contract as the sole provider of Arbitration Referral Services to the Pubs Code Adjudicator (PCA).

Following a two-year partnership, CIArb has successfully retained its contract as the sole provider of Arbitration Referral Services to the PCA for a further year.

Since becoming the sole provider in December 2021, CIArb has administered the PCA’s arbitration service. CIArb will also continue to recommend arbitrators to the PCA thereby supporting the PCA’s regulatory obligations.

This is very pleasing news for ArbDB Chambers as it includes 3 of our members; Paul Rose, Robert Sliwinski and Michael Cover.

Find out more at:

https://www.ciarb.org/news/ciarb-successfully-retains-the-pubs-code-adjudicator-contract/

Join us for the DRBF Central & Eastern Europe Conference 2024 hosted in Sofia, Bulgaria on 14-15 March 2024 to explore top practice guidance for Dispute Board users and practitioners.

We are pleased to inform you that Michael Cover is a speaker on Panel 4 on Day 1 on “Top 5 Guidelines on Drafting Position Papers”.

Dispute Board Top 5: Focused Insights on Dispute Board Practice

This annual conference is popular among Dispute Board practitioners in the region. This year's theme brings forward the DRBF's "Top 5" on various key elements for a successful DB program for users and practitioners alike.

More information at: https://www.drb.org/2024-03-ceec-2024-sofia-home

Bridging the Gulf: opportunities for young lawyers from recent developments in the UAE and India

Thursday 18 January, 1100 –1200 GMT

A webinar presented by the IBA Young Lawyers Committee supported by the Society of Indian Law Firms, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (India Branch) and Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UAE Branch)

Sign up at: https://www.ibanet.org/conference-details/CONF2500

ArbDB Chambers, the leading international chambers of third party neutrals, is delighted to announce that Dr Johanne Cox has accepted an invitation to join Chambers.

Johanne will now be practising as a full time independent arbitrator through ArbDB Chambers. She has practised international arbitration for over 20 years, is a Solicitor-Advocate in England and Wales, a Solicitor (non-practising) in the Republic of Ireland, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and a Member of the Dispute Resolution Committee of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE).

Johanne has until recently been the Head of International Arbitration at a leading London law firm. She has also led the arbitration practice at a leading law firm in Cairo and spent 10 years working and practicing in the MENA region (Egypt, the UAE and Qatar). In addition to her experience arbitrating commercial arbitrations, Johanne is an expert in Investor State Arbitration and is the author of “Expropriation in Investment Treaty Arbitration” (2019) Oxford University Press.

Tony Marks, the Chair of ArbDB Chambers, commented:

“We are delighted to welcome Dr Jo Cox as a Member of ArbDB Chambers. She is already a distinguished arbitrator and has extensive experience particularly but not exclusively in investor state disputes. We look forward to working with Jo further to develop her arbitration practice, both in the UK and internationally.”

Johanne Cox comments:

“I’m delighted to be joining ArbDB Chambers. It’s a natural next step in my career to focus on my arbitrator practice and ArbDB Chambers is a perfect fit with a presence in London, Dubai and Singapore. I’ve already enjoyed getting to know my new colleagues at ArbDB Chambers and I’m looking forward to the times ahead.”

For all enquiries about Dr Cox’s availability and full professional CV, please contact the Clerk to Chambers, Martin Poulter in 020 3514 9020 or by email Martin.Poulter@arbdb.com