Originally from World Arbitration And Mediation Review (WAMR)

International arbitrators increasingly face public policy issues but the exact parameters of the term “public policy” and its application remain undelineated. Is public policy what a State decrees as public policy? Is there an international public policy? This panel of preeminent international arbitrators will explore the scope of public policy and provide their views on when and how international arbitrators should apply public policy in international commercial arbitrations.

DAVID CARON: Good afternoon everyone. Following on Lucy Reed’s comment at the end of the last of the morning sessions, now the arbitrator’s task is to somehow get everyone going again after lunch and how do we do that? But it is a pleasure to be here at 25 years and to moderate this discussion about public policy, the perspective from the arbitrator, and let me introduce our discussants. To my immediate right is – continuing this Bond tradition – Fox, Grey Fox, Professor George Bermann of Columbia University and as you all know, the Rapporteur on the Restatement of International Commercial Arbitration in the U.S.

It is a pleasure, George, that you are here as an arbitrator. Also joining us in place of Albert Jan van den Berg, we’re just delighted he could join us, is Anton Maurer. Anton is a partner with the firm CMS Hasche Sigle in Germany. He is also the outgoing chair of the Academy of Comparative and International Law here at the Center. It’s just a delight that they are celebrating their 50th year. You gave a talk yesterday, I gather, to the academy. It is great that you are here for that, too.