Commercial disputes are always complex and time-consuming: and in practice their most complex and time-consuming aspect often concerns not the law but remedies and dispute resolution. Hence this Colloquium, which also comes at an opportune time, since we now know the rough shape of the post-BREXIT jurisdiction landscape. Many believe that this will if anything be to the advantage of the English courts as a jurisdiction of choice, not only because of the demise of the Brussels system in the UK but also because of the Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements 2005 and the prospect of the accession of the UK to the Hague Judgments Convention of 2019. Hence, such matters need to be given proper consideration by academics and those in practice.

When it comes to other forms of dispute resolution, the statistics have already confirmed that BREXIT has not had much impact on London’s position as a favourite forum for arbitration and other forms of dispute resolution. But this does not mean that arbitration law is not subject to its own pressures for change: there is a growing realisation that our procedural rules relating to arbitration need improving further, and that our arbitration law needs to take measures to accommodate the solving of at least some commercial disputes by AI. In addition, there is a growing interest in developing an even more user-friendly approach to ADR mechanisms. Our eighteenth International Colloquium will focus on these issues.

As ever, discussion will range freely over national, international, and EU legal dimensions, and will in every case be led by panels of top professional and academic experts.

The format will be unchanged, and familiar to anyone who has been to any of our previous Colloquia. Each session will be regulated by a chairperson with discussion led by two or three speakers, followed by as much free and open debate as time allows. All delegates will be provided with a full pack containing papers and source materials.