On 25 March 2026, Rajah & Tann Asia hosted a panel discussion titled “Beyond the Passport: Is Nationality a Reliable Proxy for Neutrality?” at the Paris Arbitration Week 2026. This is the third consecutive year that Rajah & Tann Asia has participated in this annual event aimed at connecting the community of arbitration practitioners from all over the world.
In an era of heightened geopolitical tension, expanding sanctions regimes, and increasingly polarised international relations, nationality-based considerations in the selection of arbitrators have resurfaced with renewed intensity. The panel brought together practitioners and arbitrators from multiple jurisdictions to discuss whether an arbitrator’s passport is a meaningful indicator of impartiality, how institutions, counsel and tribunals weigh nationality in practice, and whether current approaches strike the right balance between perceived neutrality and appointing the most qualified decision-makers.
The host speakers were Partners Kelvin Poon, SC (Deputy Managing Partner and Head, International Arbitration), Dr Vanina Sucharitkul, and Michelle Li (Head, International Arbitration, Construction & Projects (China)), with distinguished guest speakers Yves Derains (Founding Partner, Derains & Gharavi), Vladimir Khvalei (Partner, Mansors), and Victoria Orlowski (Of Counsel, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP).
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