The Annual Master’s Lecture is a prestigeous event in the Arbitrators’ calendar attracting prominent speakers from both the arbitration and legal professions. It provides an excellent opportunity for members and their guests to get together, listen to stimulating talks and exchange their own views about the subject under discussion.
Past Annual Master’s Lectures
2024
The Annual Master’s Lecture was held on 19 March 2024. Our guest speaker was Elizabeth Howe OBE, formerly Chief Crown Prosecutor for Kent.
The title of her lecture was “Prosecutor, Persecutor, Protector?”
Elizabeth became a public prosecutor in 1980, working mainly in London, becoming Chief Crown Prosecutor for Kent, England in 1999. She has agreed to talk to us about being a Chief Crown Prosecutor and some high-profile convictions during her career.
Elizabeth currently lives in Kent, England but was born and educated in Wales. She obtained a law degree from Exeter University in 1977, was admitted as a Solicitor in 1980 and is a Higher Court Advocate. In 2007 she joined The International Association of Prosecutors (The IAP) as General Counsel on secondment from the Crown Prosecution Service for England and Wales and was responsible for their professional work programme.
Elizabeth made a significant contribution to raising standards for prosecutors worldwide through extensive work with other countries and in conjunction with international organisations concerned with the Rule of Law such as The United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC), World Bank, Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), Council of Europe, Eurojust.
In January 2008 Elizabeth was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in recognition of her service to the Crown Prosecution Service of England and Wales. In July 2015 she received an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Kent at Canterbury. She regularly trains and lectures students at the University. Retiring from the CPS and the IAP in September 2015, she became an honorary member of the IAP and a member of the IAP Senate.
We are very grateful to Rathbones, investment managers to both the Company and its charitable trust, for their generous sponsorship of this event at their offices.
2022
The Annual Master’s Lecture was held on 30 March 2022 when the Master of the Rolls, the Rt Hon Sir Geoffrey Vos delivered the Lecture about mediation.
Sir Geoffrey is the President of the Civil Division of the Civil Justice System.
He touched on voluntary as against mandatory use of mediation in disputes brought before the Courts. Noting that there had been a review that mandatory mediation did not restrict the citizen’s civil liberties, he set out an ambitious vision for the civil justice system.
Given the range of matters that come before the Courts it was planned that there would be different routes for a litigant to follow which would be defined but at first instance this might be by area of law and the size of the dispute.
The way forward would focus on resolution. AI (Artificial Intelligence) will be engaged to identify the best techniques to advance that resolution be it mediation, neutral evaluation a court hearing or early intervention.
It will soon be mandatory in civil dispute for disputes with a value of less than £500 to be subject to mandatory mediation. The mediators are expected to be employees of the Court Service who will telephone the parties.
Research continues to best identify the way forward in respect of ADR resolution, ADR resolution integrated with the Courts, taking account of European best practice and maps for models for consumer disputes to name but a few.
This note is a short summary of a wide-ranging examination of the future for civil litigation incorporating mediation, as explored by Sir Geoffrey.
The Company is grateful to Rathbones Investment Managers for their sponsorship of the event.
2018
What are the Proper Limits to the Immunity of Arbitrators?
The Rt. Hon. Lord Dyson
The lecture took place on 13th March 2018 and was hosted by Simmons & Simmons in London.
Lord Dyson was Master of the Rolls until he retired in 2016 to practise as arbitrator and mediator. He had previously been a Justice of the Supreme Court and before that a Lord Justice of Appeal, and previously a judge of the High Court.
2017
Arbitration – Elastic or Arthritic
Peter Rees QC
Download the lecture notes
2016
Family Law Arbitration: A Better Route to Justice
Sir Hugh Bennett
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2015
The Current position of the LCIA in the world of international arbitration and her plans for the future
Dr Jackie van Hof, DG of the London Court of International Arbitration
The event took place on 18 May hosted by Herbert Smith Freehills and attended by a large audience of members and guests.
This year’s lecturer was Dr Jackie van Hof the new DG of the London Court of International Arbitration who spoke of the Current position of the LCIA in the world of international arbitration and her plans for the future. The lecture covered the role of Institutions in relation to internal and external challenges; the position of arbitrators and their selection; the function of Tribunal secretaries, and the role and duties of advocates particularly in relation to the new LCIA Rules.
//VIDEO HERE
2014
Reconciliation in Society
Canon David Porter
The Master’s Lecture was given by Canon David Porter, who is the Director of Reconciliation at Lambeth Palace and who is a seasoned peace builder, particularly in the context of Northern Ireland. He addressed the topic of ‘Reconciliation in Society’ and he ranged widely over the subject in the domestic and international arenas. Poignantly, he spoke on the anniversary of the Belfast Agreement and also of the Baltic Exchange bomb.
2015
Master’s Speech John Uff
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2013
The Future of Arbitration in the Changing World of Dispute Resolution
Sir Peter Cresswell
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2013
Address by the Master
Karl Davies
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2013
Address by the Master
Karl Davies
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2011
Dealing with Death – Coroners’ Work and Proposed Reforms
R. N. Palmer LLB MB BS FFFLM Barrister-at-Law H.M. Coroner, Greater London (Southern District) Deputy Coroner, City of London
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2009
Arbitration: Just what are the parties agreeing to?
Professor Phillip Capper
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2008
Stop or Go? Injuctions and Arbitration
Graham Dunning QC
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2007
Mediation: The Next Ten years
William Wood QC
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2006
Arbitrations and Judges – how much interference should we tolerate?
Mr Justice Coleman
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2004
SPORT – Private Grief or Public Prurience
The Rt Hon Sir Philip Otten
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2003
Arbitration and Fraud
Miss Kay Linnell FCA FCIArb. MBA MEWI CFE
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2002
Flexing the Knotted Oak – English Arbitration’s Task and Opportunity in the First Decade of the New Century
John A Tackaberry QC
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