Distinguished international jurist and former International Court judge Sir Christopher Greenwood GBE, CMG, QC, will deliver this year's Herbert Smith Freehills-SMU Asian Arbitration Lecture in Singapore on Thursday 18 October.

Sir Christopher will speak on the future of investor-state arbitration, addressing recent changes and the current legal landscape to determine whether there is a need to reshape the system.

He will also address the growing criticism of investor-state arbitration, challenge these perceptions, and discuss if a standing court could theoretically resolve these concerns.

Panel discussion after the lecture will be led by Alastair Henderson, Herbert Smith Freehills' Head of International Arbitration, Southeast Asia, with Judith Gill QC and other guests.

"As international investment has boomed across and from Asia over the last decade, so have the number and complexity of related disputes," said Alastair. "In the current fast-changing geopolitical climate, the resolution of international trade and investment disputes is taking on new urgency for companies and governments alike."

"It is therefore vital that dispute resolution mechanisms remain fit for purpose. It is very much in Asia's interests to stay at the forefront of thought leadership and academic influence in this area. Singapore continues to develop as one of the foremost global centres for arbitration and is an example to other Asian jurisdictions of the importance of international collaboration in this sphere."

This year marks the eighth Herbert Smith Freehills-SMU Asian Arbitration Lecture Series. The lecture series is funded by Herbert Smith Freehills, and promotes collaborative forms of dispute resolution and access to justice.

It also promotes Singapore as a leading centre for dispute resolution in Asia, particularly in arbitration and mediation. Each year, a distinguished arbitrator delivers the lecture, which is also published in leading global journals.

Speaker information

Sir Christopher was called to the bar in the United Kingdom in 1978 and was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1999. He taught international law at Cambridge University and London School of Economics. He was elected a Judge at the International Court of Justice, where he served from 2009 until February 2018. He is now a Member of the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal and sits as an arbitrator in a number of investor-State cases.

Lecture details

1. The lecture will take place on Thursday, 18 October 2018 from 5pm (Registration begins at 4.30pm), at the Singapore Management University Hall 1.3 on level B1 of the Singapore Management University School of Law, 55 Armenian Street, Singapore 179943. Those interested in attending should register online.
2. Media are welcome to attend, and should RSVP by 5pm on 17 October 2018 to Peiling Huang, SMU Office of Corporate Communications & Marketing, at email: [email protected] or tel: +65 6828 0964.

About Herbert Smith Freehills

Operating from 27 offices across Asia Pacific, EMEA and North America, Herbert Smith Freehills is at the heart of the new global business landscape providing premium quality, full-service legal advice. We provide many of the world’s most important organisations with access to market-leading dispute resolution, projects and transactional legal advice, combined with expertise in a number of global industry sectors, including energy, natural resources, infrastructure, technology and financial services. www.herbertsmithfreehills.com

Herbert Smith Freehills has some 1,500 lawyers in Asia Pacific, advising clients on complex corporate, disputes and finance matters, currently from offices in Bangkok, Beijing, Hong Kong, Jakarta*, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo, and in Australia, from Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.

With more than 30 years' experience in the region, Herbert Smith Freehills has one of the largest international law practices in Southeast Asia. Our team comprises some 200 lawyers, working across the every ASEAN country, from four of the region's most important business centres – Singapore, Jakarta*, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur.

​About Singapore Management University

Singapore Management University (SMU) is internationally recognised for its world-class research and distinguished teaching. Established in 2000, SMU’s mission is to generate leading-edge research with global impact and produce broad-based, creative and entrepreneurial leaders for the knowledge-based economy. SMU education is known for its highly interactive, collaborative and project-based approach to learning, and for its technologically enabled pedagogy of seminar-style teaching in small class sizes.

Comprised of six schools specialising in Accountancy, Business, Economics, Information Systems, Law and Social Sciences, it offers a wide range of bachelors', masters' and PhD degree programmes and is home to over 10,000 students. With an emphasis on generating relevant multi-disciplinary research that addresses Asian issues, and being Singapore’s only university in the city, SMU enjoys strategic links with business, government and the wider community through its research institutes, centres and labs. www.smu.edu.sg

The Centre for Cross-Border Commercial Law in Asia (CEBCLA) facilitates research in all areas of commercial law especially in the Asian context. CEBCLA aims to be the leading Asian centre of research in commercial law which is informed by a variety of research methods including doctrinal, theoretical, empirical, historical and comparative perspectives. The goal is that CEBCLA will act as the meeting point and first port of call for scholars, leading practitioners, governments and policy makers pursuing rigorous, informed and significant research in commercial law in Asia. www.cebcla.smu.edu.sg

*In Jakarta, Herbert Smith Freehills' international counsel practise alongside our affiliate firm, Hiswara Bunjamin & Tandjung, one of Indonesia’s leading commercial and corporate law firms.