The British Virgin Islands International Arbitration Centre (BVI IAC), an independent not-for-profit institution serving the demands for dispute resolution in the international business community, today announced the addition of 10 members to its arbitration panel.

The 10 new arbitrators represent nine countries, further expanding the skillset and diversity of the BVI International Arbitration Centre Panel. Now composed of more than 200 international arbitrators, the panel represents common law and civil law jurisdictions, and the arbitrators speak a broad range of languages, including Cantonese, English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. 

“The British Virgin Islands International Arbitration Centre is pleased to welcome these four outstanding women and six distinguished men to our panel of arbitrators,” said François Lassalle, the Centre’s Chief Executive Officer. “Their backgrounds span the practice of law from art law to sports law and blockchain to energy resources, and include an arbitrator from Norway for the first time. Together, they confirm the International Arbitration Centre’s focus on providing professionals whose legal, business and industry experiences meet the needs for diversity in both the cultural and linguistic arenas of the global community.”

The 10 newest members of the BVI International Arbitration Centre Panel and their principal locations are: 

• Maria Athanasiou - Switzerland

• Christina Beharry - United States

• Guido Carducci - France, Italy, United Kingdom

• Andrew Chin - Hong Kong, Mainland China

• Erlend Haaskjold - Norway

• Jennifer Haywood - United Kingdom

• Tim Yimin Liu - Mainland China

• John Maalouf - United States, United Arab Emirates

• Carol Roberts - Canada

• John H. Rooney, Jr. - United States

The BVI IAC is renowned for offering a quality legal framework and a stable political environment as a British Overseas Territory. Many business executives in emerging industries benefit from resolving disputes in the BVI, because of the flexible rules that govern the region and its openness to trying new ideas and procedures.

About the British Virgin Islands International Arbitration Centre 
The BVI IAC was established to meet the rapidly evolving dispute resolution needs of arbitration users worldwide. The Centre meets the demands of the international business community for a neutral, impartial, efficient and reliable dispute resolution institution in the Caribbean, Latin America and at the cross-roads of the Americas. The BVI offers a quality legal framework and a stable political environment as a British Overseas Territory Party to the New York Convention. Users of the BVI IAC arbitration clause benefit from arbitration-friendly legislations that improve ease of business and support. The BVI IAC Panel includes arbitrators from over 40 countries, speaking more than 20 languages, and is one of the most gender-diverse panels in the world. Equipped with state-of-the-art technology and the flexibility to meet the unique requirements of any virtual arbitration, BVI IAC offers world-class facilities for conducting arbitral hearings. For more information, please visit http://www.bviiac.org.

By JENNIFER SIMPSON CARR