Mauritius bids for role as regional arbitration hub

Around 350 people attended an international arbitration conference on 10 and 11 December at a seaside resort north of Port Louis, Mauritius. The event marked the launch of the LCIA-MIAC Arbitration Centre, which is a joint venture between the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) and the government of Mauritius.

The keynote speaker, Patricia O’Brien, legal counsel and under-secretary-general for legal affairs of the UN, set the tone for the conference, describing it as a “testament to the commitment of Mauritius to position itself as a credible and enduring platform in the domain of international arbitration”.

The theme of the conference was “An African seat for the 21st century”. A quarter of those attending were from overseas. They included Justice BN Srikrishna, a former judge of the Supreme Court of India; Judge Judith Kay, a former chief justice of the state of New York; Lord Hoffmann, a former law lord of the UK; Justice Quentin Loh, a judge of the Supreme Court of Singapore; Lord Justice Aikens, a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales; Hugo Siblesz, secretary-general of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA); John Beechey, president of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC); and Adrian Winstanley, director general of LCIA.