Current trends in peaceful settlement of disputes in focus at colloquium organized by OSCE Court of Conciliation and Arbitration

An international colloquium focusing on current trends in conciliation as a means of peaceful settlement of disputes was organized by the OSCE Court of Conciliation and Arbitration on 11 and 12 June 2015 in Vienna.

The colloquium explored the different conciliation procedures provided by several jurisdictions, international organizations and other informal settings.

Legal experts in public international law such as judges of international tribunals, practitioners at international organizations and academics, addressed the topic of conciliation from various angles, including  the advantages and drawbacks of conciliation versus arbitration.

The discussions were designed to offer new perspectives for the work of the OSCE Court of Conciliation and Arbitration. The proceedings of the colloquium will be published in Spring 2016.

The event was organized with the financial support of Austria, Germany, Finland and Switzerland, and brought together representatives of States parties to the Stockholm Convention and OSCE participating states, legal advisors and senior officials of the OSCE.

Speakers at the colloquium included : Jean-Pierre Cot (International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea), Prof. Ulf Linderfalk (University of Lund), Prof. Ruth Mackenzie (University of Westminster), Prof. Lauri Mälksoo (University of Tartu), Prof. Giuseppe Palmisano (National Research Council of Italy), Edouard Planche (UNESCO), Prof. August Reinisch (University of Vienna), Philippe Sands (University College London), Daniel Thürer (Member of the Bureau of the Court), Konstantine Vardzelashvili (Constitutional Court of Georgia), and Prof. Rüdiger Wolfrum (International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea). President Tomuschat chaired the panels and moderated the discussions.

The Court of Conciliation and Arbitration, which is based in Geneva, provides a mechanism for the peaceful settlement of disputes between States. The Court was established in 1995 by the Convention on Conciliation and Arbitration. Thirty-three States are Parties to the Convention. The Court is composed of recognized experts in the field of international law who are appointed by the States Parties.