Belgrade Arbitration Conference

The University of Belgrade Faculty of Law will once again have a pleasure of hosting leading arbitration practitioners, experts and academics from UK, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Canada, Romania, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia at its annual Belgrade Arbitration Conference. The Conference topics, organized around three panels, will provide a lot of food for thought on the following matters:

I. What’s cooking in your (arbitration) kitchen?

with focus on how institutions adapt to the changed circumstances in the world, and how that is reflected in their rules and practices, recent developments in arbitration related soft law, court decisions in different jurisdictions regarding arbitration, interplay between EU law and arbitration, expedited proceedings,  diversity and generational change in arbitrator appointments, and much more.

II. Specials of the day

on different ‘hot topics’ in arbitration, including  arbitration in the shadow of sanctions regimes, parallel criminal investigations and their impact on arbitral proceedings, AI in arbitration, digital evidence and deepfakes, social media, publicity and reputational strategy during arbitration, and much more.

and

III. Bill, please

with focus on costs of arbitration including cost allocations, security for costs, insolvency or impecunious parties, third party funding and its effect on costs, success fee arrangements and alternative fee arrangements, controlling costs, cost submissions, and much more.

The keynote speakers at this year’s conference will be:

Mr. Alexis Mourre, a member of the Paris Bar and an international arbitrator. He has served as counsel and arbitrator in more than 400 international arbitrations, both ad hoc and before most international arbitral institutions. Alexis is a past president of the ICC International Court of Arbitration and past co-chair of the IBA arbitration Committee. He is professor at Sciences Po Paris and the author of numerous books and publications in the field of International Business Law, Private International Law and Arbitration Law.

Alexis will be speaking on “A Look at the future of arbitral procedure: between change and continuity”

and

Prof. Ulrich G. Schroeter is a Professor of Law at the University of Basel (Switzerland) and a Judge of the Supreme Court of Liechtenstein. He has published extensively on matters of international trade law and commercial law (in particular the 1980 Vienna Sales Convention (CISG)), Swiss and German contract law, arbitration, treaty law and financial markets regulation. Professor Schroeter’s current research inter alia focusses on the impact of economic sanctions on cross-border trade relations and on the regulation of international supply chains. He regularly advises on matters of international trade law, acts as legal expert and sits as arbitrator.

Ulrich will be speaking on “Surprises in international trade: between strict liability and narrow exemptions”.

A more detailed Conference menu is available here.

The Conference will take place on March 20, 2026 at the amph. V of the Belgrade Faculty of Law from 13:00 to 20:00.

Participation at the Conference is free of charge and does not require prior registration.

Working language of the Conference is English.

The Jubilee Fifteenth Belgrade Arbitration Conference, jointly organized by the Faculty of Law, University of Belgrade, the German Arbitration Institute (DIS), and the Serbian Arbitration Association, was held on 4 April 2025 at the Serbian Chamber of Commerce. The Conference continued its long-standing tradition of bringing together prominent domestic and international experts in the field of international arbitration and confirmed its status as one of the key professional and academic events in this area.

The Conference was traditionally opened and moderated by Ass. Prof. Milena Djordjević, while welcome addresses were delivered by representatives of the partner institutions involved in organizing the Conference: Prof. Jelena Lepetić, Vice-Dean for International Cooperation of our Faculty, Prof. Vladimir Pavić, and Prof. Reinmar Wolff.

Following the opening remarks, Professors Wolff and Pavić signed a cooperation agreement between two arbitration associations – the German Arbitration Institute, on the one hand, and the Serbian Arbitration Association and the Belgrade Arbitration Center, on the other – thereby establishing an institutional framework for their cooperation and future joint activities. On this occasion, the co-chairs of the newly established Serbian–German Arbitration Group, Evgenija Fajfer and Blagoje Milošević, presented its objectives and future activities.

The program of the Belgrade Arbitration Conference was structured around three thematic panels, inspired by the current case of the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot, which has for many years been one of the Conference’s distinctive features.

The first panel, entitled “Blueprints for Resolution: Navigating FIDIC Contracts and Construction Arbitration,” was dedicated to FIDIC contracts and construction arbitration. The panel was chaired by Jovan Nikčević (Nikčević | Kapor), while Chris Seppälä (Seppälä Arbitration), Milan Dakić (BDK Advokati), Sally Kottb (Baker McKenzie), and Filip Šušulić (Karanović & Partners) analyzed, from different practical perspectives, key challenges in the application of FIDIC contracts as well as in conducting construction arbitration proceedings.

The second panel, “Arbitration at a Crossroads: Balancing Procedure, Jurisdiction, and Strategy,” focused on issues of arbitral procedure, the jurisdiction of arbitral tribunals, and strategic considerations in arbitration. The panel was chaired by Evgenia Peiffer (CMS). Presentations were delivered by Aleksandar Ristić (Wolf Theiss), who analyzed the effects of recent Court of Justice of the European Union case law on asymmetric jurisdiction clauses; Marija Šćekić (Squire Patton Boggs), who addressed pre-arbitration procedural requirements; Reinmar Wolff (DIS / University of Marburg), who discussed preliminary views and pro-settlement approach under DIS rules; and Blagoje Milošević (Schoenherr), who examined parallel proceedings and offered practical approaches to managing them.

The third panel, entitled “Behind the Curtain: Legal Privilege, Admissibility, and Procedural Challenges in Arbitration,” was devoted to challenges related to evidentiary issues in arbitration proceedings. The panel was moderated by Milica Savić (Karanović & Partners). Speakers included Greta  Körner (WilmerHale), who addressed legal privilege in arbitration; Parvan Parvanov (I.A. Chambers), who analyzed the admissibility of “without prejudice” communications; Shane Daly (Bredin Prat), who discussed the admissibility of illegally obtained evidence; Katarina Živković (SOG-Kinstellar), who spoke on data protection and cybersecurity in arbitration; and Đorđe Novčić (JPM & Partners), who examined the application of interim and protective measures in arbitration.

The Conference concluded with the ceremonial opening of the XVII Belgrade Open Pre-Moot competition.

We sincerely thank the German Arbitration Institute (DIS), the Serbian Arbitration Association, and the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, as well as all institutions and law firms that supported the XV Belgrade Arbitration Conference: Moravčević Vojnović i Partneri (in cooperation with Schoenherr), CMS, Karanović & Partners, Wolf Theiss, SOG/Kinstellar, Nikčević | Kapor, Bredin Prat, WilmerHale, Squire Patton Boggs, Baker McKenzie, BDK Advokati, JPM & Partners, Dimitrijević & Partners, the Bar Association of Vojvodina, the Bankruptcy Law Association, and the Association of Business Lawyers of Serbia. As in the previous years, their support was an indispensable pillar in maintaining the Conference’s high professional and academic standards.

XV Belgrade Arbitration Conference will take place on Friday, April 4, 2025 at the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Resavska street No. 13-15).

As in the past, the Conference will be in English. Attendance is free of charge.

There is no prior registration required. Just join us when you can.

 15:30-15:50 coffee break

 17:30-17:50 coffee break

Final Conference Program in memory of Prof. Gašo Knežević will be published on Monday, March 11. The Conference will start at 13:15 with welcoming remarks, and end at 19:45 with official opening of the XVI Belgrade Open Pre-Moot.

The list of speakers and chairs includes: Carlos Ramos-Mrosovsky, Eveli Lume, Florian Haugeneder, Greg Lourie, James Castello, Marina Stanisavljević, Milan Lazić, Milica Savić, Miranda Elvidge, Nenad Kovačević,  Reinmar Wolff, Sandra Wilhelm, Simon Gabriel, Tatiana Minaeva, Tim Portwood, Urs Zenhäusern, Valentine Chessa, Venus Valentina Wong and. Vladimir Pavić.

The topics that will be discussed within the three panels include: Differing expectations of civil and common law arbitrators and counsel in international arbitration; Increasing demand for information on the soft skills of arbitrators; The arbitrator’s fear to touch criminal law questions; Hot topics in arbitration: sanctions; Summary disposal; Deciding ex aequo et bono in arbitration; Strategies for an effective arbitration hearing; Tips and Tricks in Cross-Examination; Emergency Arbitrator; The increasing trend toward court enforcement of arbitral interim measures; Implementation of Art. 16(3) of UNCITRAL Model law in the region and the whole panel on ICC and DIS Perspectives On New Claims, Consolidation And Mandatory Rules.

There is no prior registration required. Just join us when you can.

Conference will be in English. Attendance is free of charge.

Registration for the XI Belgrade Arbitration Conference is now open!

Participation at the Conference is free of charge and requires only prior on-line registration.

We are looking forward to seeing you soon at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Law.

X Belgrade Arbitration Conference took place on the afternoon of March 16, 2017 at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Law.

The program is available here.

The University of Belgrade Faculty of Law  once again had a pleasure of hosting leading arbitration practitioners, experts and academics from London, Paris, Vienna, Moscow, Geneva, Zurich, Dubai, New York and Belgrade at its annual Belgrade Arbitration Conference. The Conference topics will deal with the issues of arbitrability, third party funding and interim measures, and assessment of damages in arbitration. See Conference Program.

The Conference took place on March 31, 2017 at the amph. V of the Belgrade Faculty of Law from 13:30 to 20:30.