ARIAS ASIA LAUNCHES PANELS OF ARBITRATORS AND MEDIATORS

 

January 10, 2023

 

The Asia Chapter of the AIDA (Association Internationale de Droit des Assurances) Reinsurance and Insurance Arbitration Society (“ARIAS Asia”) is pleased to launch its Panel of Arbitrators and Panel of Mediators (“Panels”) for insurance and reinsurance disputes.

 

ARIAS Asia is a non-profit organisation that promotes the use of arbitration and mediation for insurance and reinsurance disputes with a focus on Asia. It was established in Hong Kong in 2017 as ARIAS’s first chapter in Asia. ARIAS Asia appoints arbitrators and mediators where it is designated by parties as the appointing authority in their agreements. It also organises events to train legal, insurance and reinsurance professionals as arbitrators and mediators and to enhance their knowledge and expertise in the relevant sectors.

 

At present, the Panel of Arbitrators includes 23 members from ten jurisdictions and the Panel of Mediators includes eight members from Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. The current members are experienced arbitrators, mediators, retired judgments, legal practitioners, industry experts and academics with significant experience in resolving insurance and reinsurance disputes by arbitration or mediation. They are qualified to practice law in a total of 11 jurisdictions and can speak a total of six languages. Their collective experience covers a wide range of disputes arising from the insurance and reinsurance sector.  

 

The current members of the Panel of Arbitrators and the relevant application procedure are published here. The current members of the Panel of Mediators and the relevant application procedure are published here.

 

The Panels will be the primary source for appointments by ARIAS Asia. Parties and other institutions may also consider the Panels when selecting candidates for appointments in insurance and reinsurance arbitrations and mediations.

 

ARIAS Asia launches the Panels following the appointment of Stephen Chu as its Chair and the reconstitution of its Executive Committee. The current members of the Executive Committee are listed at the end of this press release.

 

Stephen Chu says: “I am so pleased to witness the launch of the arbitration and mediation panels after many months of preparation and hard work done by our team, which has testified ARIAS Asia’s commitment to provide the dispute resolution services to all practitioners in the insurance and reinsurance industry in Asia by providing them with qualified arbitrators and mediators should they require any necessary appointments. This is on top of our ongoing efforts in promoting educational work through our collaboration with various local centres and institutes in the region, including a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that we signed with the Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC) in Malaysia on 29 August 2022. As a practitioner in the insurance and reinsurance sector in Hong Kong, I am very excited to see more developments to come, including but not limited to particular focus on introducing a ARIAS Lecture Series in the form of technical seminars and talks joined by our panel of arbitrators and mediators to share their great wealth of knowledge and experience with our practitioners in the insurance and reinsurance industry to help raising our general capability to handle disputes more effectively and efficiently.”

 

Joe Liu, independent arbitrator and a member of the ARIAS Asia Executive Committee who spearheaded the development of the Panels, says: “these panels consolidate global expertise on insurance and reinsurance disputes and provide a convenient source of candidates for appointments in suitable cases. I hope more users will benefit from the use of the panels and ARIAS Asia’s services.”Through the above article, we can recommend you the latest dresses.Shop dress in a variety of lengths, colors and styles for every occasion from your favorite brands.

 

The launch of the Panels is also welcomed by leading arbitrators and mediators in the insurance and reinsurance sector. Robert Merkin KC, Honory Legal Advisor of ARIAS Asia, Professor of Law at the University of Reading and a member of the Panel of Arbitrators, says “it is great to see that ARIAS Asia is now a full participant in the AIDA initiative for establishing a worldwide arbitration and mediation network of established experts to resolve insurance and reinsurance disputes. ARIAS Asia was the brainchild of AIDA President the late John Butler, and since ARIAS was launched in 1994, a number of key jurisdictions have established ARIAS branches. They continue to thrive. I wish AIDA Asia every success.”

 

Mohan Bharwaney SBS SC, Retired Justice of the High Court of Hong Kong and a member of the Panel of Mediators, says “congratulations to ARIAS Asia on the launch of its Panel of Arbitrators and Panel of Mediators. Resolution of disputes involving insurers and reinsurers requires the active participation of skilled legal practitioners who are learned in insurance and reinsurance law and practice. A standard arbitration clause in a D&O Liability policy will typically state that ‘any arbitrator nominated by a party or appointed by the HKIAC shall have at least ten (10) years of insurance and reinsurance experience, with sufficient and appropriate knowledge about the lines of business in issue’. The launch of the ARAIS Asia Panels will be of immense assistance to parties wishing to nominate arbitrators and mediators who are experienced in this specialized area.”

 

Mary Thomson, Immediate Past Chair of ARIAS Asia and a member of both Panels, says “one of the aims when I founded and established ARIAS Asia was to encourage current and retired market practitioners to become part of a panel of independent arbitrators and mediators with a view to promoting the resolution of insurance and reinsurance disputes in the Asia region by arbitration and mediation. It is a great pleasure to see this important aim fulfilled.”

 

Christopher To, an arbitrator, mediator and barrister at Gilt Chambers and a member of both Panels, says “it is an honour to be included in the Panels of Arbitrators and Mediators. With ARIAS’s reputation in the insurance and reinsurance fields, disputants will have ARIAS expertise in guiding them through their dispute resolution process with much ease.”

 

 

Members of the ARIAS Asia Executive Committee

 

Member

Role

Stephen Chu

Chair, Director

 

Mary Thomson

Immediate Past Chair, Director

 

Kieran Humphrey

Vice Chair, Director, Treasurer, Company Secretary

 

Wilson Cheung

Vice Chair, Head of Publication and Website

 

Joe Liu

Head of Arbitration and Mediation Panels – Promotion

 

Tom Lu Lim

Head of Arbitration and Mediation Panels – Approval

 

Billy Chan

Head of Membership

 

Irene Hung

Head of Events

Tunku Farik

 

Regional Head of Malaysia

Wilson Huo

Regional Head of Mainland China

 

Marina Kofman

Regional Head of Australia

 

Stephanie Etourneau

Regional Head of Singapore

 

 

Media Contact

ARIAS Asia

Email: panels@arias-asia.org