LAW 590 - International Arbitration and Mediation in the age of COVID-19

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The social distancing restrictions that have been imposed across the globe to contain the spread
of COVID-19 have had an impact on every industry. In this course, students will explore how the
current crisis is affecting Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), and in particular international
arbitration and mediation. Disputes are of great importance to the parties, as well as being expensive and often timesensitive:
putting them on hold for an indefinite period of time is impractical and offends the
principles of access to justice and legal certainty. This is why there has been a quick uptake of
tools to facilitate remote arbitral hearings and mediations. However, moving a dispute online
(other than those that were conceived for Online Dispute Resolution, or ODR), poses practical,
technical and ethical challenges to lawyers, arbitrators and mediators.
The purpose of this course is to identify and explore these three categories of challenges and
reflect on the role that lawyers play in each. The legal profession has been somewhat slow in
adapting to technological changes but, as Professor Susskind has notably anticipated,1 we are on
the brink of an upheaval. This course will equip students with an understanding of some of the
changes in the practice of law and encourage them to anticipate others.