New York Convention Roadshow in Yerevan, Armenia

Report written by Lise Bosman

“We are all partners in the uniform application of the New York Convention”. This was the message delivered on 3 September by Judge Dominique Hascher of the French Supreme Court and ICCA Governing Board to nearly 40 judges of the Armenian courts as part of ICCA’s New York Convention Roadshow (NYC) programme. 

In a day-long seminar hosted by the American University of Armenia (AUA) in Yerevan and opened by First Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Justice of Armenia Rafik Gregoryan, ICCA Executive Director Lise Bosman sketched the architecture of the international arbitration system, Judge Hascher delivered a detailed article-by-article account of best practices in the application of the NYC, and Mushegh Manukyan of Three Crowns LLP spoke about the incorporation of the NYC into Armenian law and Armenian arbitration-related case law. The Chief Judge of the Armenian Civil Appeals Court Arsen Mkrtchyan gave the courts’ perspective on the enforcement of arbitral awards, also addressing questions by fellow judges on matters of civil procedure. A lively Q&A session at the end of the day addressed issues of civil procedure, public policy matters, and aspects of Armenia’s UNCITRAL Model Law-based arbitration legislation, among others. 

The programme made use of the recently-launched Armenian-language edition of ICCA’s Guide to the Interpretation of the 1958 New York Convention (the 23rd translation of this Guide), freely available on ICCA’s website and distributed in hard copy to the Armenian courts. 

The NYC Roadshow programme formed part of a series of events held on 3-4 September in the “pink city” of Yerevan — a name derived from the characteristic dusky rose tone of the stone traditionally used in buildings along Yerevan’s broad avenues. The NYC Roadshow seminar was complemented by a Young ICCA workshop on 4 September on oral advocacy in international arbitration and a conference on 4 September on Investment Disputes in Armenia, hosted by the AUA and featuring speakers from ICCA, as well as other international and local experts.

ICCA thanks the tireless organisers of the Roadshow, Talin Hitik (Executive Director of the newly-formed Armenia Centre for Dispute Resolution) and Mushegh Manukyan (translator of the Armenian version of the Guide, working closely with graduates of the AUA). Additional thanks are due to Ms Hitik for initiating and organizing the related events.