International Arbitration Law and Procedures and Skills for participating in other International Arbitrations
On 14 July 2012, the Institute of Law at Birzeit University held a training workshop on “International Arbitration Law and Procedures and Skills for participating in other International Arbitrations”. The training is part of a Specialized Professional Diploma Programme in Legal Skills that seeks to qualify and train legal advisors at the Ministry of Justice, improve their professional capacities, and help them carry out assigned functions effectively and efficiently.
The training covered a range of subjects, including overview of the structure of international arbitration, choice-of-law and conflict-of-laws issues; arbitration agreements, arbitral jurisdiction, and the doctrine of competence-competence, the role of an arbitral institution and comparison to local and international arbitral rules, standards and procedures applicable to selecting and challenging arbitrators; and how to seek interim relief; and procedures in arbitral hearings.
The trainers used mock case studies, recorded mock scenes that demonstrated relevant skills, hands-on role playing exercises, and focused on a range of skills, including: professional language training for non-native English speakers (including specialized international arbitration terminology), developing a case strategy, research and written advocacy skills, pre-hearing case strategy and arguing procedural issues, preparing witness statements, the use and development of expert witness testimony, counsel ethics, oral advocacy and opening statements, cross-examination of witnesses, responding to special advocacy challenges, such as aggressive opposing counsel, client misconduct, a hostile arbitrator, travel obstacles, and preparing closing statements and post-hearing submissions.
The training was conducted by an eminent panel of local and international experts: Prof. Catherine Rogers, from the Faculty of Penn State Law and an Associate Reporter for the American Law Institute’s new Restatement of the Law (Third) of International Commercial Arbitration; Mr. Yousef Aftab, a principal at Dan Tan Law, an International Arbitration and Litigation Boutique based in New York. Mr. Aftab has extensive international arbitration and commercial litigation experience, acquired at prominent firms in New York and Toronto; Ms. Lubnah Katbeh, co-founder and managing partner of Equity Group, a leading Palestinian law firm. Ms. Katbeh has been working as a practicing lawyer in Palestine since 15 years, especially in areas of litigation, contracts and in the field of business, financial and commercial laws.
It should be noted that as part of the Institute of Law’s strategic partnership with the Ministry of Justice, the Institute seeks to implement a number of training programmes, including the Specialized Diploma Programme in Legislative Drafting and the Specialized Diploma in Legal Skills, that will target a number of legal advisors and civil servants, who provide professional legal services.
The Specialized Professional Diploma in Legal Skills is carried out by the Institute of Law at Birzeit university in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice, and funded by the united Nations Development Program (UNDP).
