EVENT RECAP: INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF MARITIME ARBITRATORS – ICMA XXIII

EVENT RECAP: INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF MARITIME ARBITRATORS – ICMA XXIII

EVENT OVERVIEW

The 23rd International Congress of Maritime Arbitrators (ICMA XXIII) was held from 22–27 March 2026 at the Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore, with the participation of more than 300 arbitrators, lawyers, maritime insurance organizations, and arbitration centers from over 37 jurisdictions.

ICMA is one of the most prestigious forums in the field of international maritime arbitration, established in 1972, playing a significant role in shaping global standards for maritime dispute resolution. After nearly two decades since its 2007 session, ICMA returned to Singapore, reflecting the growing importance of Asia in the international arbitration landscape.

PARTICIPATION OF ADR VIETNAM CHAMBERS

Arbitrator – Lawyer Nguyen Manh Dzung, Director of ADR Vietnam Chambers, attended and actively contributed to the Congress as a member of the Steering Committee.

Notably, ADR Vietnam Chambers was also a sponsor of ICMA XXIII, demonstrating a strong commitment to international integration and the development of arbitration in Vietnam.

KEY CONTENTS OF THE CONGRESS

1. Plenary Sessions – 23 March 2026

The first three plenary sessions focused on key issues in maritime arbitration in the global context:

• Global Overviews: with the participation of Dan Butler KC (Australia) and moderated by Bruce Harris (UK), focusing on the impact of geopolitical developments, economic sanctions, and supply chain disruptions on maritime disputes, along with updates on practices in the United States and China.
• Arbitrator Disclosure: emphasizing transparency and ethical standards in arbitration proceedings, particularly regarding disclosure obligations and conflicts of interest.
• AI in Arbitration: discussing the application of artificial intelligence in legal research, dispute prediction, and decision-making support, while highlighting challenges relating to impartiality and fairness.

2. Parallel Sessions – 24 March 2026

The thematic sessions covered eight main areas:

• Overview of ADRs: introducing dispute resolution tools such as Early Neutral Evaluation, Co-Mediation, and Expedited Arbitrations.
• Enforcement-related issues: focusing on the enforcement of arbitral awards and grounds for setting aside awards in jurisdictions such as Singapore, the UK, UAE, and India, as well as the role of soft law.
• Types of arbitration: comparing ad hoc and institutional arbitration, analyzing their respective advantages and limitations to recommend suitable approaches for maritime disputes.
• Electronic Bills and Misdelivery Claims: analyzing characteristics of electronic bills of lading (including blockchain applications), indemnities, and causes and consequences of misdelivery.
• Procedural issues: including partial awards, expert evidence in maritime arbitration, and recovery of legal costs under Japanese law.
• Insurance, limitation of liability, ship arrest, and specific maritime disputes (speed/performance, deviation, demurrage).

3. Parallel Sessions – 26 March 2026

Key topics included:

• Challenge to Jurisdiction: analysis of the doctrines of Kompetenz-Kompetenz and separability under Malaysian law, and practical grounds for jurisdictional challenges under UK law.
• Voyage Charterparties: addressing key issues such as war risks, seaworthiness, and off-hire clauses in the context of current geopolitical developments, as well as the enforceability of anti-suit injunctions under English and Singaporean law compared with civil law jurisdictions.
• Decarbonisation and environmental transition: the maritime industry is undergoing a strong shift toward a “green” model under emission reduction targets set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the EU. Key trends include the adoption of clean fuels, investment in green vessel technologies, and the application of economic tools such as carbon taxes, making environmental compliance a critical element in maritime contracts and practice.
• Bills of lading and cargo issues: differences between Vietnamese law and international conventions such as the Hague-Visby Rules and Hamburg Rules, as well as legal issues relating to switch bills of lading analyzed from financial and cash flow perspectives.

4. Closing Plenary – 27 March 2026

The final sessions focused on international sanctions and their impact on maritime trade:

• The sessions addressed the increasing importance of sanctions and their impact on global trade and shipping. Leading experts such as Sara Masters KC, Ricardo Maldonado, and Reihanen Nadjarzadeh analyzed the legal implications of sanctions in the context of global political developments.
• Case studies included sanctions involving Iran and Venezuela, illustrating how trade and political restrictions affect global supply chains, as well as fluctuations in energy, food, and pharmaceutical markets when countries face restricted access to ports and international insurance services. Legal challenges in enforcing arbitral awards involving sanctioned states were also highlighted.

GENERAL ASSESSMENT

ICMA XXIII highlighted that ad hoc arbitration continues to retain its value in terms of flexibility and party autonomy, particularly in maritime disputes.

However, in Vietnam, although ad hoc arbitration is recognized under Article 3.7 of the Law on Commercial Arbitration 2010, it remains underdeveloped due to limitations in arbitrator appointment mechanisms (largely dependent on courts), lack of procedural support, and risks concerning the validity of arbitration agreements. As a result, parties continue to prefer institutional arbitration.

In addition, recent practice from ADR Vietnam Chambers shows that maritime disputes have involved complex legal issues such as requests for interim measures and, notably, the determination of the legal nature of contractual relationships (whether logistics service contracts under the Law on Commerce 2005 or contracts of carriage under the Vietnam Maritime Code 2015) in order to clarify the parties’ respective rights and obligations.

Furthermore, in multi-contract maritime disputes (e.g., contracts of carriage, charterparties, bills of lading), arbitral tribunals must carefully assess the scope of their jurisdiction to avoid risks of annulment or refusal of recognition and enforcement.

At the same time, in a recent international sale of goods dispute, Arbitrator Nguyen Manh Dzung, acting as Chairman of the Arbitral Tribunal, applied the CISG as the governing law, reflecting the increasing trend of applying international conventions in dispute resolution practice in Vietnam.