An overview of the Abu Dhabi International Arbitration Centre

Kristin Campbell-Wilson ( / kristin-campbell-wilson ) , executive director of the recently launched Abu Dhabi International Arbitration Centre (known as arbitrateAD), talks with Dubai-based partner Antonia Birt (www.reedsmith....) and associate Laura Adams (www.reedsmith....) about the establishment and mission of arbitrateAD. They delve into how the centre fits into the global arbitration landscape, how it differentiates itself from its competitors, and what the new rules will offer arbitration users.
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Transcript:
Intro: Hello and welcome to Arbitral Insights, a podcast series brought to you by our International Arbitration Practice lawyers here at Reed Smith. I'm Peter Rosher, global head of Reed Smith's International Arbitration Practice. I hope you enjoy the industry commentary, insights and anecdotes. We share with you in the course of this series, wherever in the world you are. If you have any questions about any of the topics discussed, please do contact our speakers and with that, let's get started.
Laura: Welcome back to another episode of Arbitral Insights. I'm Laura Adams, senior associate in the Energy and Natural Resources team. I'm here today with Antonia Bert, a partner in our Global Commercial Disputes team here in Dubai. And we are thrilled to be joined by today's guest speaker, Kristin Campbell-Wilson, executive director of the newly launched Abu Dhabi International Arbitration Center known as ArbitrateAD.
Antonia: Welcome. And congratulations Kristin on the role. Uh and the very exciting launch of ArbitrateAD uh you joined ArbitrateAD in late ‘23 to establish the institute with the ambition to grow it into a leading center in the EMEA region. Uh But of course, you're no stranger to arbitration. You have two decades of international arbitration experience. Uh most recently with the SCC Arbitration Institute where you worked as Deputy Secretary General and then later Secretary General prior to this in private practice. And in your role at the ACC, you led various key projects including projects that really put the ACC at the forefront of technological developments. Uh Specifically, I was thinking of the development of the first digital platform for secure communications and file sharing. So we are very excited to have you here. I know you're also on the board and on committee positions of various organizations including the IBA, uh the IBA 40 editorial boards. So you're bringing a wealth of experience into the region and we are very, very happy to have you on board. So welcome again. Let's start with an overview of the arbitration sphere here in the region and how and where ArbitrateAD fits in. As many of our listeners will know ArbitrateAD replaces the Abu Dhabi Commercial Conciliation Arbitration Center known as ADCCAC and also its rules and the rules - the new rules have come into force on the first of February this year 2024. ADCCAC was originally established in 1993 by the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce. And despite significant updates to the old ADCCAC rules in 2013, criticism has plagued the center with respect to efficiency. Another sort of relevant aspect I wanted to mention is the ADGM, the Abu Dhabi Global Market that was formed some time ago, following which there is an arbitration center that was opened by the ADGM. But that center of course is not an administering institution. It has stated the arbitration facilities but not a center in the way that we know it as part of the arbitration industry. So given all this, it's of course, also no secret that a lot of the arbitration users in Abu Dhabi have previously selected the ICC and the ICC rules for their arbitration clauses. So with this little piece of background, can you give us a brief introduction to ArbitrateADD, the background to its inception and where it fits in within this arbitration landscape?
Kristin: Sure, I'd be happy to um first let me just say thank you for inviting me to be a part of your podcast. Very excited to be here. So thank you very much for the kind invitation. So the Emirates of Abu Dhabi is an economic powerhouse in this region and it should offer domestic and international business, reliable and efficient dispute resolution services, befitting its standing. And while there is the ADGM to promote business and investment in the emirate, they do not, as you pointed out, administer disputes. The Abu Dhabi International Arbitration Center is the ambitious initiative of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry to provide that missing piece of the puzzle for a healthy and sustainable business ecosystem within Abu Dhabi, addressing those voices of concern by establishing a new governance structure, new rules and bringing in a new experienced team within both the secretariat of the center but also on the Court of arbitration. And in doing this, uh we will, you kno...