IBA Arb40 Symposium: Navigating new frontiers: Technology, geopolitics and enforcement in arbitration

28 Jan 2026

Session information

Keynote speech - Beyond ritual: from process to consequence

Wednesday 28 January (0910 - 0935)

Description

International arbitration has substantially ossified into ritual without consequence. The problem is not the rules, but accountability that does not bite. Efficiency is proclaimed while delay, cost inflation, opacity, and ethical drift are tolerated. This is a failure of will, not design. Arbitration now needs resolve: enforceable ethics, reasoned decisions, disciplined case management, credible representation, and AI-ready accountability—so it earns trust in practice, not praise in theory.

 

Keynote Speakers

VK Rajah SC V K Rajah, Singapore, Singapore