On 11 June 2020, CIArb’s (the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators) 10th Roebuck Lecture was delivered by Cherie Blair CBE QC MCIArb. Entitled ‘Getting ahead of the curve: How arbitration can better meet the needs of people, parties and planet’, the talk was a fascinating tour d’horizon of the key trends affecting the development of arbitration, with a particular focus on sustainability and human rights. Cherie also integrated the recent adaptations made by arbitration in response to the COVID-19 pandemic into her wider narrative of innovation, resourcefulness and agility. The overarching thesis of Cherie’s lecture is that arbitration is at its best when proactively anticipating, adapting to, and indeed shaping large-scale structural changes, and that it will better meet the needs of all stakeholders if it continues to fulfil that potential.
Agility, technology & human rights
This year’s lecture was especially poignant given the passing of Professor Derek Roebuck in April. In
