As the Arbitration Academy celebrates its fifteenth anniversary, this year’s Emmanuel Gaillard Debate will take place on 16 July 2026. Prof. August Reinisch and N. Jansen Calamita will exchange views on the topic of “Most-Favored-Nation treatment and arbitration clause: fundamental incompatibility or standard treaty mechanism?”
The Arbitration Academy was founded in 2011 by Prof. Emmanuel Gaillard who served as the Academy’s first President, alongside Yas Banifatemi as the Academy’s first co-Secretary General. Yas Banifatemi currently sits on the Academy’s Board of Directors. Benjamin Siino was elected to act as the Academy co-secretary-general effective 1 January 2026.
Recordings of previous Emmanuel Gaillard Debates can be viewed here:
The first Debate was held on 12 July 2022 on the topic of “Arbitrator’s Jurisdiction: Who decides?”, between Yas Banifatemi, and Prof. George A. Bermann of Columbia Law School.
The second Debate took place on 12 July 2023. Prof. Andrea Bjorklund of McGill University Faculty of Law, and Mohamed Shelbaya discussed “Shareholder claims: What’s wrong with them?”.
The third Debate was held on 26 June 2024 and focused on “Is the finality of arbitral awards an essential attribute of international arbitration?”. The debaters included Shane Spelliscy, Director General of the Trade Law Bureau of the Government of Canada, Deputy Legal Adviser at Global Affairs Canada, and Chairman of the UNCITRAL Working Group III on Investor-State Dispute Settlement Reform, and Benjamin Siino.
The fourth Emmanuel Gaillard Debate took place on Tuesday, 8 July 2025 with Michael E. Schneider, Senior Counsel and Founding Partner of Lalive (Geneva) and Prof. Luca G. Radicati di Brozolo, Founding Partner of ARBLIT (Milan) and Tenant of Fountain Court Chambers (London). The topic was “Precedent in international arbitration: for whom do arbitrators write?”
The fifth Emmanuel Gaillard Debate will take place on the “Diamant Bleu” yacht in Paris, on 16 July 2026, 18:00-20:00. It will be followed by a cocktail reception while cruising on the Seine (with the return to the dock at 23.00). The event is again sponsored by Gaillard Banifatemi Shelbaya Disputes.
As places are limited, we highly recommend you register at your earliest convenience using the link below.
We look forward to welcoming you at the 2026 Emmanuel Gaillard Debate.
