A brief history of arbitration across six continents / Histoire schématique de l’origine de l’arbitrage sur les six continents

Presentation

Since the earliest human communities, societies have sought ways to resolve disputes without violence. Long before modern courts, communities around the world turned to arbitration – sometimes informal or sacred, always pragmatic.
This conference offers a concise, engaging journey across civilizations and continents to explore the birth and evolution of arbitration. Through concrete examples and historical anecdotes, we will seek to illuminate the spirit, values, and cultures that shaped these practices – from African customary assemblies and the mediators of imperial China to the traditions of common-law countries and the European roots of modern arbitration.
Our aim is not to provide an exhaustive history of arbitration, but to reveal the human constants that underlie these mechanisms for resolving conflict: the pursuit of peace, the trust placed in a neutral third party, and the desire to preserve social bonds.
Speakers will present in English. The discussion will take place in both French and English.

REGISTRATION : emmanuelle.bouvier@legiscompare.com

Comité scientifique : Béatrice CASTELLANE, Carine BECHAREF JALLAMION et Mikaël SCHINAZI

PROGRAMME

4.15pm: Accueil et/ou connexion des participants / Welcome and/or Participant Connection

4.30pm: Propos introductifs / Opening Remarks

Béatrice Castellane, Arbitre international et Ancien Membre du Conseil de l’Ordre des avocats de Paris, Présidente de la Section Arbitrage & ADR de la Société de législation comparée (SLC), Administrateur de l’Association des Juristes Franco-Britanniques (AJFB).
Independent Arbitrator, Former Member of the Council of the Paris Bar, President of the Section Arbitration & ADR Society of Comparative Law (SLC), Director of the Franco-British Lawyers Society (FBLS).

Presentations:

4.40pm: Une histoire de l’arbitrage en Chine / A History of Arbitration in China
Frédéric Constant, Professeur agrégé des Facultés de droit et Membre honoraire de l’Institut universitaire de France
Professor of Law and an honorary member of the Institut universitaire de France

5.00pm: Quelques histoires de l’arbitrage en Afrique / Selected Histories of Arbitration in Africa
Ferdi Youta, Professeur de droit public à l’Université Bourgogne Europe, Dijon, France
Full Professor of Public Law at Université Bourgogne Europe

5.20pm: « Couvrez cette affaire que je ne saurais voir » : l’arbitrage transnational dans les litiges relatifs à la traite négrière (XVIe–XVIIIe siècles)
“Cover this case which I cannot behold.” Transnational Arbitration for Slave Trade Disputes (16th–18th Centuries)
Anne Charlotte Martineau, Chargée de recherche au CNRS, Senior Researcher at CNRS

5.40pm: L’Affaire de l’Alabama (1870-1874) : le renouveau de l’arbitrage dans l’espace anglo-américain à la fin du XIXe siècle
The Alabama Case (1870-1874): The Revival of Arbitration in the Anglo-American World in the late 19th Century
Bruno de Loynes de Fumichon, Maître de conférences honoraire à l’Université Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne
Honorary maître de conférences at Paris I University (Panthéon-Sorbonne)

6pm: Débat / Q&A

6.30pm: Mots de clôture / Closing remarks

6.35pm: Verre de l’amitié / Drinks

8pm sharp: End of the event

Les intervenants s’exprimeront en anglais. Le débat se déroulera en français et en anglais.
Speakers will present in English. The discussion will take place in both French and English.