The traditional gathering of world experts in the field of arbitration took place in Belgrade this spring. University of Belgrade Faculty of Law hosted the seventh Belgrade Arbitration Conference on 20 March 2015, an ever-growing trademark event of our law school with a constantly increasing number of participants. The conference panels this year discussed a selection of emerging topics in international arbitration law (see Conference Program).
The opening ceremony commenced with the warm welcome by the Dean of the University of Belgrade Faculty of Law, Professor Dr. Sima Avramović, who expressed the great satisfaction for the fact that the Faculty of Law is organizing such a prestigious gathering once again, underlining the success the conference had in the previous years. The conference participants were also greeted by the President of the Organizing Committee, Professor Dr. Mirko Vasiljević, the acting President of the Foreign Trade Court of Arbitration at the Serbian Chamber of Commerce (the oldest arbitral institution in the region) who singled out series of efforts invested by the Faculty of Law in promotion of arbitration as an alternative dispute resolution mechanism. On behalf of the German Institution of Arbitration (DIS), an honored partner in organization of the Belgrade Arbitration Conference, the participants of the conference were welcomed by Ms Caroline Bechtel who expressed her satisfaction with the cooperation with the host institution on organization of the Belgrade Arbitration Conference. Dr. Miroslav Paunović, President of the Serbian Arbitration Association, emphasized how highly important this event is for the legal community and the Association, and informed the participants of the recent developments in the field of arbitration in Serbia and the activities of the Serbian Arbitration Association in promotion of ADR. Finally, on behalf of the traditional partner in the organization of the Belgrade Arbitration Conference, GIZ Open Regional Fund for SEE, Mr. Slobodan Šaric expressed both his satisfaction that the cooperation has been so fruitful in the past and hope that the joint ventures of this kind will continue in the years to come. More »