CIBEL-NFACR Conference | Session 4: Dispute Resolution in Digital Trade

Session 4: Dispute Resolution in Digital Trade

Dove into the dynamic world of dispute resolution in the digital trade with our expert-led panel. This cutting-edge session zeroed in on the challenges and solutions at the heart of dispute resolution, blending insights from China's digital environment with global legal foresights and institutional strategies. Designed for industry trailblazers, this dialogue was tailored to demystify the complexities of cross-border disputes in the digital age, offering a roadmap to navigate through the digital trade's legal landscape. This panel also explored the future of dispute resolution, where innovation met practicality, empowering businesses to confidently face the challenges of the digital marketplace.

Speakers

Ms Pui-ki Emmanuelle Ta

Ms Ta is currently the Chief Executive Officer of eBRAM International Online Dispute Resolution Centre Limited. With over 15 years of experience in international arbitration and case management, she has supervised hundreds of international arbitration cases in a wide range of jurisdictions and economic sectors.

As Counsel of the Secretariat of the International Court of Arbitration of the ICC, Asia Office in Hong Kong (2016-2021), she was responsible for managing the Hong Kong team, including administration of Asia-related arbitration cases. She was appointed as Vice-President of the Asia Pacific Regional Arbitration Group (APRAG) from 2016 to 2019.

Prior to that, she worked as Deputy Counsel of the Secretariat of the ICC Court in Paris and was one of the founding members of the ICC Court Secretariat’s first overseas case management team based in Hong Kong (2008).

She holds a Masters degree in International Business Law from the University Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, and a postgraduate degree in International Relations from the University of Marne-la-Vallee (France). She is qualified to practice at the Paris bar.

Edwina Kwan

Edwina is an international law specialist with a focus on regional Asian cross-border dispute resolution. Edwina has extensive experience in international arbitration, commercial dispute resolution, private and public international law, and risk mitigation. Edwina also advises clients on business and human rights, and global compliance, due diligence and governance relating to climate change, anti-bribery and corruption and modern slavery. Edwina is recognised for her ability to achieve successful dispute resolution results, and has substantial experience before international arbitral tribunals and courts. Edwina acts as counsel and advocate in arbitrations in all the major global arbitral institutions and advises private clients, governments, and state-owned entities on their international legal obligations across a range of sectors. Edwina is admitted as a lawyer in Australia and Hong Kong and has worked in Beijing, Sydney, Hong Kong and Perth. Edwina has been recognised for her expertise in the Who's Who Legal in International Arbitration, Legal 500 and Doyle's Leading Arbitration Lawyers Australia.

Edwina co-founded the China Young Arbitration Group (CYAG) in Beijing, has lectured at Tsinghua University Master of Laws Program in International Arbitration in Beijing, and the University of NSW and Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Diploma in International Arbitration.

Ms Kiran Sanghera

Kiran Sanghera is Deputy Secretary-General at Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (ACICA). Ms Sanghera supports the Secretary-General and the ACICA Board with a particular focus on business development, bringing with her over a decade of institutional experience.

Ms Sanghera was previously Special Counsel at HKIAC. She led HKIAC's domain name dispute resolution team, and oversaw HKIAC's business development initiatives. Kiran also previously worked in HKIAC’s arbitration team as legal counsel handling the administration of commercial arbitrations involving parties from Asia, Europe and the Americas. She has been responsible for drafting and implementing internal guidelines for case management, and regularly delivered presentations on the work of HKIAC and broader issues related to dispute resolution. 

Ms Lu Fei

Lu Fei is the Director of Business Development Division of China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC), responsible for the business development initiatives and international cooperation of the organization.

Ms. Lu joined CIETAC in 2003 as a case manager, and has administered or supervised the administration of around a thousand cases, both domestic and international.

Fei has been an arbitrator since 2014 and has heard disputes of different natures, including disputes on sale of goods, joint venture, construction, asset management and funds, etc.

She is a member of the editorial committee of Arbitration and Law, the earliest professional law review on arbitration in mainland China and has made presentations representing CIETAC in international meetings.

Chair

Kun Fan 2023

Kun Fan is Associate Professor of UNSW Law and Justice's China International Business and Economic Law (CIBEL) Centre. She was named Norton Rose Fulbright Faculty Scholar in Arbitration & Commercial Law in 2017 and received numerous awards in recognition of her academic contribution. She held academic positions at the Faculty of Law, McGill University, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and was also a Visiting Scholar of the Harvard Yenching Institute (2012-2013) and a Visiting Scholar at Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy (SIDRA) (2023). She also has extensive experience in ADR practice, having worked as counsel, legal expert, secretary for the arbitration tribunal, arbitrator and domain names panellist, and deputy counsel at the ICC International Court of Arbitration. She is called to the New York Bar, an Academic Council Member of the Institute of Transnational Arbitration, a Domain Names Panellist of the HKIAC and the ADNDRC, an Accredited Mediator of the HKMAAL, and an Arbitrator of a number of arbitration institutions.

Closing Remarks

Deborah Healey headshot

Deborah Healey is a professor at UNSW Law and a co-director of China International Business and Economic Law (CIBEL) Centre, UNSW Law & Justice. Her research and teaching focus on competition law and policy in Australia, China, Hong Kong and the ASEAN nations and she has written widely on them over a long period of time. She is a regular visitor to those jurisdictions to research and teach. Within the area of competition law, she is particularly interested in the role of government in the market, both in Australia and internationally; merger regulation; competition in banking and finance; and the digital economy. Deborah has undertaken substantial research in the development of the Anti-Monopoly Law of China against the background of its political economy and has written widely alone and with Chinese co-authors and in material translated into Chinese. She has consulted with, and completed research projects for, UNCTAD, OECD and ASEAN. She is a Non-Government Adviser to the International Competition Network and a member of the Law Council of Australia Competition Law Committee.

About CIBEL-NFACR Conference

Australia China Business in the Digital Age: Navigating the Rapids

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The digital environment has radically changed the way that global supply chains operate. This conference brings together experts and business operators from Australia and China to discuss frameworks, developments and pain points with the aim of enabling businesses in Australia and China to deal more confidently with their counterparts overseas. It also aims to facilitate further collaboration and opportunities. It focuses on four important areas: competition law, which applies to businesses but has had particular impact on digital players; trade law, which sets many of the rules of engagement for global business; digital finance, an important and essential element of trade and commerce; and dispute resolution, which focuses on what to do when the deal goes wrong.

See the full program here

 
Acknowledgement

The ‘Competition Law in the Digital Age: Enhancing Australian and Chinese Business Understanding' project is supported by the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations. UNSW CIBEL is proud to be a National Foundation for Australia-China Relations grant recipient.