Azerbaijan Arbitration Days 2025

DAY 1

9:00-10:00 WELCOMING THE PARTICIPANTS

10:00-11:30 INAUGURATION OF BAKU ARBITRATION CENTRE

Prof. Dr. Kamalia Mehtiyeva, Professor of Law, President of Baku Arbitration Centre and of Azerbaijan Arbitration Association

Honorable Dr. Inam Karimov, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Azerbaijan: “Cooperation and coexistence: Empowering Arbitration Through Judicial Leadership and Institutional Alignment”

His Excellency Dr. Farid Ahmadov, Minister of Justice of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Prof. President Charles Michel, Former President of the European Council and Former Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Belgium, “International Arbitration: A Last Safe Haven in a Turbulent World”

Prof. Dr. Maria Chiara Malaguti, Former President of the UNIDROIT, “At the crossroads of the Middle Corridor: building infrastructure, leveraging investment contracts, responding to the specificities of business disputes through arbitration”

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11:30-12:00 COFFEE BREAK

12:10-13:30 BAKU ARBITRATION CENTRE: COOPERATION, MODERNIZATION AND GROWTH

Moderated by Prof. Dr. Kamalia Mehtiyeva, Law Professor, President of Baku Arbitration Centre and of Azerbaijan Arbitration Association

Panel in English with simultaneous Azerbaijani translation

Prof. Dr. Ziya Akinci, Founding Partner of the Akinci Law, President of the Istanbul Arbitration Centre (ISTAC)

Prof. Dr. Thomas Clay, Law Professor at Sorbonne University and Managing Partner at Clay Arbitration

Paolo Marzolini, Counsel and Arbitrator, Founding Partner of Patocchi & Marzolini, Geneva

Paul Key KC, Essex Court Chambers, London

Araz Poladov, Head of the Development of Legislation Division within the Legislation and Legal Policy Department of the Administration of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

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13:30-14:45 LUNCH

15:00-16:20 PANEL DISCUSSION: BAKU ARBITRATION CENTRE: ARBITRATION CENTRE AT THE HEART OF THE TRANS-CASPIAN INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT ROUTE (MIDDLE CORRIDOR)

Moderated by Nigar Guliyeva, Attorney at KILINÇ Law Firm, Istanbul

Panel in English with simultaneous Azerbaijani translation

Mr. Anar Aghayev, CEO, Food City Agrocomplex

Mr. Toghrul Ahmadov, Chief Legal Officer, NEQSOL Holding

Mr. Bakhtiyar Aslanbeyli, Vice President for the Caspian Region, BP

Prof. Hugo Barbier, Professor of Law, Partner, Peter & Kim, Geneva

Ms. Elif Sevüktekin, Attorney, Founding Partner, Sevüktekin Law

Mr. Nandakumar Srivatsa, Barrister (England, Wales, and India), Clay Arbitration

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16:20-16:45 COFFEE BREAK

16:45-18:00 PANEL DISCUSSION - OIL & GAS DISPUTES: NEW REGIONAL DYNAMICS

Moderated by Attorney Taha Zahedi Vafa, Partner at Clay Arbitration

Panel in English with simultaneous Azerbaijani translation

Mr Elyar Aliyev, BP Vice President legal, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Türkiye region

Attorney Henri de Dampierre, Attorney at Sevüktekin Law

Mr Nurlan Mustafayev, Head of Corporate Law Department at SOCAR

Mr Celal Savaş, Senior advisor to CEO at SOCAR, Arbitrator

Dr. Diora Ziyaeva, Partner at Dentons, US Region Co-Lead in Mining and Natural Resources

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18:00-18:15 PRESENTATION OF THE YEARBOOK OF THE INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION COURT AT THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY OF THE KYRGYZ REPUBLIC: “ARBITRAL INSTITUTIONS: CHALLENGES OF PUBLIC POLICY” (EDITOR-IN-CHIEF PROF. KAMALIA MEHTIYEVA)

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DAY 2

8:45-10:00 ARBITRAL WOMEN BREAKFAST: VOICES OF INFLUENCE: WOMEN DRIVING CHANGE

Moderated by Nata Ghibradze, Counsel at Hogan Lovells LLP, Secretary of the Arbitral Women

Nazli Ahmadova, Director, Apex Advisors / Chair, Business law committee Azerbaijani Bar Association

Shirin Aliyeva, Chief Legal and Data Strategy Officer, Azercell

Prof. Dr. Kamalia Mehtiyeva, President of Baku Arbitration Centre and Azerbaijan Arbitration Association

Dr. Eda Manav Ozdemir

10:05-10:25 FEATURED SPEAKER TALK BY OPENING SPEECH

Anar Baghirov, Chairman of Azerbaijani Bar Association

10:25-11:35 PANEL DISCUSSION - INSTITUTIONALISING ARBITRATION: A DRIVER OF ECONOMIC GROWTH AND JUDICIAL EFFICIENCY IN AZERBAIJAN

Moderated by Attorney Kamil Valiyev, Co-managing partner at Dentons

Panel in Azerbaijani with simultaneous English Translation

Prof. Azar Aliyev, Chair for International Economic Law and Comparative Law, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg

Attorney Nazli Ahmadova, Director, Apex Advisors, Chair, Business law committee Azerbaijani Bar Association

Ruslan Bayramov, Founding Partner of Legalize law firm

Dr. Aytaj Gasimova, Director of the Legal and Compliance Department at PASHA Holding LLC

Attorney Gunel Ismayilbayli, Counsel, Head of Azerbaijan desk, Istanbul, Baker McKenzie

11:35-12:00 COFFEE BREAK

12:00-13:15 “CLEAN ENERGY, COMPLEX DISPUTES: NAVIGATING TRANSACTIONS AND ARBITRATION IN THE GREEN ECONOMY”

Panel moderated by Attorney Amanda Lee, Arbitrator, LML Arbitration & Consultant Costigan King

Panel in English with simultaneous Azerbaijani translation

Attorney Konstantin Christie, Partner at Peter & Kim, Geneva

Ms Hayala Nagiyeva, Chief Financial Officer, Azerbaijan Green Energy Company LLC

Tuvan Yalim, Partner at KABINE Law, Istanbul

Elif Naz Uzman Pehlivan, Senior Legal Counsel at Tiryaki Agro, specialist of public-private partnerships

Ms Shamay Zurayeva, Counsel at BP Exploration (Caspian Sea) Ltd.

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13:15-14:30 LUNCH BREAK

14:45-16:00 INVESTMENT ARBITRATION AT A CROSSROADS: REGIONAL TRENDS AND GLOBAL IMPLICATIONS

Moderated by Attorney Sergei Vataev, Partner at Advocates’ Bureau Legit

Panel in English with simultaneous Azerbaijani translation

Attorney Anna Guillard Sazhko, Independent Arbitrator and Counsel specialized in investment and commercial arbitration

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Eda Manav Özdemir, Head of the International Arbitration and Alternative Solutions Department, Directorate General of Law and Legislation, Secretariat General of the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yulia Levashova, Associate Professor at Nyenrode Business University and Director of the Dispute Prevention Program at the Asia Pacific FDI Network

Ms. Marisa Planells-Valero, Legal Counsel, International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)

Attorney Nada Sader, partner at Sader Arbitration

16:15-17:30 CONSTRUCTING CONNECTIONS: ARBITRATION IN MAJOR INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS ACROSS AZERBAIJAN AND THE MIDDLE CORRIDOR

Panel moderated by Attorney Akin Volkan Arikan, Partner at Arikan Partners

Panel in English with simultaneous Azerbaijani translation

Attorney Melis Acuner, Partner, Quinn Emanuel

Attorney Çağrı Cem, Partner, Tahan Cem Attorney Partnership

Dr. İsmail G. Esin, Senior Partner, Esin Attorney Partnership

Ekrem Kaya, Partner, HKA

CLOSING REMARKS BY PROF. DR. KAMALIA MEHTIYEVA