Worshipful Company of Arbitrators Annual Master’s Lecture Challenges and Responsibilities: the Role of the Institution 26 May 2015 On 18 May 2015, Dr Jacomijn (Jackie) van Haersolte-van Hof, Director General of the LCIA, delivered the annual Master’s Lecture to the Worshipful Company of Arbitrators, a London-based livery company established to foster the profession of arbitration and other forms of private dispute resolution. The topic of Jackie’s presentation was “Challenges and Responsibilities: the Role of the Institution”, during which Jackie addressed a wide range of issues facing all institutions, and more specifically, the LCIA. Jackie drew a distinction between internal challenges, which go to the arbitral process itself, and external challenges, noting that some challenges are “mixed”. In the discussion of internal challenges, Jackie focused on four key aspects of the arbitral process, namely, arbitrators, cost and duration, tribunal secretaries and counsel. This followed with a broad discussion of some of the external challenges facing arbitral institutions and the broader international arbitration community. Jackie focused specifically on the recent attention that international arbitration has received resulting from the misconceptions and confusion surrounding the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) debate, and the impact of financial sanctions introduced by the United States and the European Union, with a particular focus on Russian related sanctions imposed in response to the conflict in Ukraine. Throughout the discussion, Jackie emphasised the importance of educating users as a means of addressing these challenges and emphasised that while institutions such as the LCIA play a central role in tackling these issues, the responsibility is shared between all stakeholders. Jackie concluded the lecture with a discussion of the current position of the LCIA and the plans for the future. The event was well attended, with members of the Worshipful Company of Arbitrators and their guests. Paula Hodges QC, Professor John Uff CBE QC and Dr Jacomijn van Haersolte-van Hof