Pandemic sees ICCA Congress pushed back again
The global congress of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA) due to be held in Edinburgh has been rescheduled again, to 26-29 September 2021.
Hosted by the Scottish Arbitration Centre, the XXVth ICCA Congress was originally due to take place in May 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic was rearranged for February 2021. But with increasingly strict measures against the pandemic again being taken in many countries, the organisers have decided that the only safe course is to postpone it further.
Brandon Malone, chair of the Scottish Arbitration Centre and of the Edinburgh congress, and Andrew Mackenzie, chief executive of the Centre, who were due to step down at the conclusion of the congress, will remain in place to deliver the congress.
Registered delegates will automatically have their registrations and, where relevant, their accommodation transferred to the September 2021 congress.
Lucy Reed, President of ICCA, explained: "We have been monitoring the COVID-19 travel and gathering restrictions closely, and it has become increasingly evident that the congress could not go ahead in February in anything near the traditional format. While nothing about the pandemic and its impact on our lives is predictable, we believe that the new September 2021 dates give us the best chance to meet in person, engage with speakers, share knowledge, and simply spend time with friends old and new – something we are now missing so much.
"This could not have happened without the unstinting efforts of the Edinburgh congress host, the Scottish Arbitration Centre, led by Brandon Malone and Andrew Mackenzie, and the flexibility shown by the programme committee, led by Cavinder Bull, Loretta Malintoppi and Constantine Partasides."
Mr Malone added: "We look forward to welcoming delegates to Edinburgh in September 2021 and hope by then to be able to give all attending a true Scottish welcome. These new dates give us the best chance of hosting the congress we had intended, giving delegates a real taste of what Edinburgh has to offer."