Transforming Arbitration: Exploring the Impact of AI, Blockchain, Metaverse and Web3

Maud Piers; Sean McCarthy; Nino Sievi; Viola Donzelli; Cemre Ç. Kadıoğlu Kumtepe; Matthias Lehmann; Crenguta Leaua; Ekaterina Oger Grivnova; Mihaela  Apostol; Amy J. Schmitz; Takashi Takashima; Dirk Van Gerven; Aija Lejniece

doi:10.54195/FMVV7173

Transforming Arbitration: Exploring the Impact of AI, Blockchain, Metaverse and Web3

Authors

Maud Piers (ed)

Ghent University

Sean McCarthy (ed)

Aegis Arbitration

DOI: https://doi.org/10.54195/FMVV7173

Synopsis

In an era where technology is rapidly transforming the legal landscape, Transforming Arbitration explores how innovations like AI, blockchain, the Metaverse, and Web3 are reshaping arbitration as a key form of dispute resolution. The book features insights from leading academics, practitioners, and policymakers, offering a comprehensive look at how these advancements are influencing our conceptual, substantive and procedural understandings of many parts of this field.

Each chapter examines the challenges and opportunities presented by these technologies, raising important questions about the compatibility of traditional arbitration processes with digital innovations. As the legal field adapts to developments like cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and 'virtual' disputes, this book provides valuable guidance on the future implications for arbitration. By questioning established norms and advocating for fresh approaches, Transforming Arbitration is a vital resource for legal professionals and scholars committed to evolving with the times.

Combining theoretical exploration with practical recommendations, this collaborative volume equips the legal community with the tools to navigate the complexities of our digital age with confidence and foresight.

Chapters

Preface

DOI: https://doi.org/10.54195/1ek0s030

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Introduction

Maud Piers, Sean McCarthy

DOI: https://doi.org/10.54195/hwyjpm11

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Crypto Arbitration
Is It Really a Thing?

Nino Sievi, Viola Donzelli

DOI: https://doi.org/10.54195/FMVV7173_CH01

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Defining Boundaries of Due Process in Blockchain Arbitration

Cemre Ç. Kadıoğlu Kumtepe

DOI: https://doi.org/10.54195/FMVV7173_CH02

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The New York Convention’s Borderline
Blockchain Arbitration and Artificial Intelligence

Matthias Lehmann

DOI: https://doi.org/10.54195/FMVV7173_CH03

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Metaverse Reality vs Natural Reality
The Impact of the Type of Reality on Legal Concepts

Crenguta Leaua

DOI: https://doi.org/10.54195/FMVV7173_CH04

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Metaverse and Private International Law
Challenges in Determining Governing Law

Ekaterina Oger Grivnova

DOI: https://doi.org/10.54195/FMVV7173_CH05

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Conflict of Jurisdiction
Criteria for Assessing Jurisdiction in the Context of Cross-Border Emerging Digital Asset Disputes

Mihaela Apostol

DOI: https://doi.org/10.54195/FMVV7173_CH06

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Picking the Proper Technological Tool for Problem-Solving in Arbitration

Amy J. Schmitz

DOI: https://doi.org/10.54195/FMVV7173_CH07

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Developing Legal Frameworks for Dispute Resolution in the Digital Age

Takashi Takashima

DOI: https://doi.org/10.54195/FMVV7173_CH08

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The Lawyer’s Profession in a Digital World

Dirk Van Gerven

DOI: https://doi.org/10.54195/FMVV7173-CH09

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Good Governance Principles for Law Firms Using Artificial Intelligence

Aija Lejniece

DOI: https://doi.org/10.54195/FMVV7173_CH10

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Author Biographies

Maud Piers, Ghent University

Maud Piers is an associate professor at Ghent University and Coordinator at the Center for the Future of Dispute Resolution. She serves as an arbitrator in domestic and international cases, is a certified mediator and is vice-president at CEPANI. Maud edited Arbitration in the Digital Age, pioneering digitalization in arbitration, and has over 100 publications on the subject. She is widely recognized for her expertise and thought leadership on the future of dispute resolution, actively contributing to various working groups, including those with CEPANI, CIArb, and VIAC.

Sean McCarthy, Aegis Arbitration

Sean McCarthy is an Irish barrister, New York attorney and founder of Aegis Arbitration, an international disputes consultancy practice. He is a former Deputy Counsel at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris. Sean is also a co-founder and moderator for ArbTech, an online community established in 2021, focused on exploring the future of justice and the intersection between law and technology. Sean is a founding member of Blockchain Ireland’s Legal Working Group as well as VIAC’s Legal Tech Think Tank (LTTT), along with Maud.

Nino Sievi, Nater Dallafior

Nino Sievi is a partner at Nater Dallafior in Zurich, Switzerland. He is a triple-qualified disputes lawyer and represents clients in complex commercial disputes before arbitral tribunals (ICC, Swiss Rules, DIS, ad hoc, etc.) and Swiss courts, particularly in the fields of contracts, banking, post M&A, commodities, construction, crypto/blockchain, tech and asset recovery. He also serves as arbitrator in international arbitration proceedings and acts as mediator.

Viola Donzelli, Homburger AG

Viola Donzelli is an associate in the dispute resolution team of Homburger AG, a leading Swiss law firm located in Zurich, Switzerland. Viola is specialized in domestic and international arbitration and litigation, representing clients in complex commercial disputes. Viola further specializes in employment law matters. In this area, her practice comprises strategic counseling and disputes prevention. Her wider expertise is in the fields of contracts, individual and collective employment, corporate liability, distribution, joint ventures/partnerships, intellectual property, and company law. Viola works in German (mother tongue), Italian (mother tongue) and English (fluent).

Cemre Ç. Kadıoğlu Kumtepe, CyberArb

Cemre Ç. Kadıoğlu Kumtepe, PhD earned her LLB from Bilkent University and an LLM from Georgetown University. She has completed internships at various law firms, international organizations, and arbitration institutions, including ICSID and UNIDROIT. Cemre has practiced law in Istanbul, focusing on arbitration and civil law disputes. She holds a PhD from the University of Leicester on due process in blockchain dispute resolution. A member of both the New York Bar and Istanbul Bar, she is also an accredited mediator in Türkiye, specializing in commercial law disputes. Cemre serves on the board of CyberArb, an NGO dedicated to raising awareness of cybersecurity in international arbitration.

Matthias Lehmann, University of Vienna

Matthias Lehmann is a professor at the University of Vienna, as well as at Radboud University Nijmegen. His main interests lie in private international law, comparative law, and dispute resolution. He has taught courses on comparative law and a special course on the crypto economy at the Hague Academy of International Law. Matthias is a member of the Council of the European Law Institute (ELI), of the American Law Institute (ALI), of the Academia Europaea (AE), and various other organisations. He has been visiting Oxford University, LSE, Stanford University, and the National University of Singapore. Matthias has participated in various UNIDROIT and HCCH Working Groups, inter alia on Digital Assets and Digital Tokens.

Crenguta Leaua, Swiss Institute for Alternative Thinking

Professor Crenguta Leaua, Ph.D. habilitatus, teaches comparative international arbitration, business law and communications and new technologies law at the Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Faculty of Law and Faculty of Cybernetics and Informatics in Economics. She is an experienced arbitrator, former vice-president of International Court of Arbitration - ICC Paris, current member of the board of directors of the Silicon Valley Arbitration and Mediation Center (SVAMC). a thought leader in arbitration (WWLegal), a correspondent member of UNIDROIT (Rome) and an expert in technology-related international disputes at UNCITRAL. After having founded Leaua Damcali Deaconu Paunescu LDDP law firm in Bucharest, she is currently integrating her legal expertise in dispute avoidance and resolution at the crossroads between law, economics, psychology and technology, developing the alternative thinking method, as director of The Swiss Institute for Alternative Thinking.

Ekaterina Oger Grivnova, MetaverseLegal

Ekaterina Oger Grivnova is an international arbitration lawyer with expertise in Web3, crypto-assets, and the Metaverse. Recognised in Legal500, she has advised on high-profile investment and commercial disputes across various sectors and arbitration rules. She has also taught international arbitration and comparative law at the Paris Bar School and the University of Versailles and is currently completing her PhD.

Ekaterina is the founder of MetaverseLegal, a decentralised community exploring the legal implications of Web3, and the initiator of Web3TuesDays, a webinar series on Law and Web3. She has spoken at global conferences on blockchain, NFTs, and metaverse-related disputes.

Mihaela Apostol, ArbTech

Mihaela Apostol is an independent counsel and arbitrator based in London. Mihaela is a civil (Avocat of the Bar of Bucharest, Romania) and common law (Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales) qualified lawyer with ten years of practice in international arbitration having worked as counsel, tribunal secretary and arbitrator. She has an
LL.M. degree in International and European Business Law from Panthéon-Sorbonne and an LL.M. degree in International Commercial Arbitration from Stockholm University. Mihaela is also a co-founder and moderator at ArbTech.

Amy J. Schmitz, Ohio State University, Moritz College of Law

Professor Amy J. Schmitz holds the John Deaver Drinko-Baker & Hostetler Endowed Chair in Law at the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. Professor Schmitz teaches courses in Arbitration, Contracts, Lawyering and Problem-Solving, Online Dispute Resolution (ODR), Social Media and Conflict, AI, Data Analytics and the Law, International Arbitration, and Consumer Law. Prior to teaching, Schmitz clerked for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit and practiced law with large law firms in Seattle and Minneapolis, with a specialty in arbitration.

Takashi Takashima, United Nations Office of Legal Affairs

Takashi Takashima is Legal Officer at the International Trade Law Division (ITLD) of the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs, which functions as the substantive secretariat of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). He manages UNCITRAL’s project on the stocktaking of developments in dispute resolution in the digital economy (DRDE) and assists in the servicing of UNCITRAL Working Group II on dispute settlement.

From April 2018 to September 2022, he was Senior Attorney with the Japanese Ministry of Justice. He started his career as Judge of the Tokyo District Court in 2003 and has served as Judge of various courts in Japan for 12 years. From 2009 to 2011, he was Second Secretary of the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations.

Dirk Van Gerven, Nauta Dutilh

Dirk Van Gerven is Former Bar Leader of the Brussels Bar and current Managing Partner, Brussels office of NautaDutilh. Dirk has extensive experience in all areas of corporate and financial law. He regularly assists larger companies with reorganisations, acquisitions and other transactions. Dirk advises listed companies on a wide range of financial and corporate issues, including corporate governance and handles matters relating to corporate crime and corporate litigation. He also acts as an arbitrator in Cepani, ICC and ad hoc arbitrations. Dirk has published widely in the fields of corporate and financial law and ethics, and has previously presided over the supervisory board of the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA).

Aija Lejniece, Independent Counsel

Aija Lejniece is an independent counsel and arbitrator based in Paris. She advises governments and private entities in international commercial and investment disputes across a broad range of jurisdictions and business sectors. Aija was also one of the first international arbitration specialists to branch out into crypto disputes, most notably advising traders in a dispute against the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance. The Government of Latvia recently appointed her as a Member of the Court of the Permanent Court of Arbitration.