II Belgrade Arbitration Conference, held on 29 March 2010 at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Law, dealt with the most challenging questions of the application of alternative dispute resolution methods in international business practice. This event was organized under the name of “Belgrade Arbitration Conference – Combining Arbitration and Mediation in International Business Practice”. It brought to Belgrade the most distinguished experts in this field, including the former long-term Secretary of United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), Dr. Jernej Sekolec.

Over 200 lawyers from Serbia, the region and around 20 other countries registered for this event. Such a great interest for the Conference is perhaps the best proof of the importance of this event and the interest of its topic (See Conference Program).

The Conference was preceded by an official opening ceremony. The participants of the Conference were greeted by Professor Sima Avramović, the President of the Council of the University of Belgrade, Professor Gašo Knezević, the President of the Foreign Trade Court of Arbitration attached to the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, and Dr. Judith Knieper, on behalf of the GTZ Open Fund for South-East Europe.

The topics discussed at the Conference were divided in two parts: the first panel focused on the relation between arbitration and mediation and the use of mediation techniques in arbitration, while the second panel examined the questions of the use of multi-tier clauses and the possibilities of their enforcement. The first panel gathered the leading experts from Croatia, Austria and the United States of America, and was chaired by Dr. Jernej Sekolec. During the second part of the Conference, papers were presented by the speakers from the United Kingdom, Austria and Switzerland. The chairman of the second panel was Professor Loukas Mistelis, from Queen Mary, University of London.

Due to its large attendance, the reputation and competence of the speakers, the quality of papers presented and the choice of the topic, Belgrade Conference on international commercial arbitration and mediation was seen as one of the most interesting scientific events this spring not only in the region but also worldwide. This was the unanimous impression of all the participants of the Conference. Furthermore, the importance of the Belgrade Arbitration Conference was affirmed by the fact that its organization was endorsed by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL).

The members of the Organization Board of the Conference were Prof. Dr. Mirko Vasiljević, Prof. Dr. Gašo Knežević, Prof. Dr. Vladimir Pavić, lecturer Milena Đorđević, LL.M. and lecturer Marko Jovanović, LL.M. Apart from the University of Belgrade Faculty of Law, the main organizers of the Conference were GTZ Open Fund for South-East Europe,Foreign Trade Court of Arbitration attached to the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Belgrade City Hall. The organizers of the Conference received generous support, due to which the participation at the Conference was free of charge, from International Finance Corporation, the Embassy of the Netherlands and the following law firms:  Baklaja Igrić Mujezinović in cooperation with Clyde & Co, Karanović – Nikolić, CMS Beograd, Moravčević Vojnović Zdravković in cooperation with Schoenherr.

Photo gallery from the Conference>>

Video recording of the Conference proceedings >> part 1  >> part 2  >> part 3  >> part 4