The bigger picture
Following the success of the first two sessions of the CEPANI ARBITRATION ACADEMY, CEPANI is proud to launch the third series of classes “International Level”. International arbitration is constantly evolving, requiring practitioners not only to master the legal framework, but also to navigate complex procedural and strategic challenges. The CEPANI Arbitration Academy – International Level is designed for practitioners who wish to deepen their expertise and engage with the most pressing issues shaping international arbitration today.
As the leading arbitration centre in Belgium, CEPANI is committed to fostering excellence within the arbitration community. Through its Arbitration Academy, CEPANI brings together leading Belgian and International experts to share their practical insights and experience.
Across three specialised classes, participants will examine the strategic foundations of international arbitration, the challenges surrounding enforcement, evidence and confidentiality, and the field of treaty-based investment arbitration.
Combining practical insights, real-life examples and interactive discussions, the CEPANI Arbitration Academy provides a unique opportunity to deepen your expertise, exchange views with peers and learn directly from leading arbitration practitioners.
This Autumn
Join a group of practitioners and take your arbitration practice to the next level.
Reasons to join
• Learn from leading Belgian and International arbitration experts
• Explore real-life arbitration scenarios and practical challenges
• Engage in interactive discussions with experienced practitioners
• Deepen your expertise in key areas of international arbitration
• Expand your professional network within the arbitration community
Speakers
Prof. Benoit Allemeersch is a respected litigator and negotiator, he represents clients before civil and criminal courts in Belgium, as well as in national and international arbitration. The focus of his dispute resolution practice is on complex commercial, financial and corporate disputes and he frequently consults on cross-border litigation. His experience includes appointments as an arbitrator and a mediator.
Benoît started his career at Linklaters’ Brussels office and subsequently practiced as a counsel with Clifford Chance LLP for many years. He became one of the founding partners of Quinz in 2011.
He combines his law practice with an academic career, as tenured professor at the Catholic University of Leuven, where he teaches Belgian and European civil procedure law and evidence law. He is widely published in various subjects relating to national and EU procedural law, conflicts of law, evidence and criminal law. He also advises the Belgian legislator and government on a regular basis.
He is a board member at CEPANI, Belgium’s leading arbitration centre, and a former director of Brussels South Charleroi Airport (BSCA). He is also closely involved in the Belgian American Educational Foundation and the University Foundation (FUUS). Other professional affiliations include the European Law Institute and the International Association for Procedural Law.
Prof. Olivier Caprasse, Caprasse Arbitration. For over twenty years, Olivier Caprasse (born 1972, Belgium) has been actively involved in arbitration as arbitrator, counsel and academic. He has seated as party-appointed arbitrator, chairman or sole arbitrator, in various part of the world under various set of rules.
Olivier Caprasse has been a member of the ICC Court (2016-2024), and of the ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR for numerous years. He has been one of the experts for Belgium in the UNCITRAL working group II on arbitration and conciliation. He served as expert to the Minister of Justice before the Belgian Parliament in the 2013 reform of Belgian arbitration law. He was also a member of the working group to establish the 2020 CEPANI arbitration rules.
A member of the Brussels bar, he is also Professor at the Universities of Liège (ULiege) and Brussels (ULB), where he teaches arbitration, ADR and corporate law.
Prof. Eric De Brabandere is an international lawyer, with special expertise in international investment law, international arbitration, and international dispute settlement. He was admitted to practice in Belgium in 2002.
He holds the chair of international dispute settlement at Leiden University and is a founding partner of De Meulemeester & De Brabandere (DMDB Law) based in Brussels. He is a Visiting Professor in international investment law and arbitration at the University of Makeni (Sierre Leone) and at Bocconi University in Milan (Italy). He has published eight books (as author and editor) and over 100 articles and book chapters relating to international investment law, arbitration, dispute settlement and international law. He was Director of the International Law Department/Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies from September 20217 until August 2024.
Eric De Brabandere’s practice as partner with DMDB Law focuses on serving as arbitrator, and as expert in international (investment) arbitration and international legal disputes. He has been appointed as presiding arbitrator, sole arbitrator, and co-arbitrator in international commercial arbitrations. He regularly acts as expert in international proceedings and proceedings before domestic courts, and advises on investment law and arbitration, international sanctions, international commercial arbitration, international law and dispute settlement. He has previously acted as counsel in investment treaty arbitrations under the ICSID Convention and the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules. Amongst others, he is listed as arbitrator suitable for appointment in bilateral disputes under the EU’s trade agreements with third countries (established by EC Decision C(2020) 8905, is listed as arbitrator with the Netherlands Arbitration Institute (NAI), is a member of the Belgian Centre for Arbitration (CEPANI), and is listed as arbitrator with the Belgian Centre for Sports Arbitration (“C-SAR”).
Ms. Athina Fouchard Papaefstratiou is an internationally recognised arbitration expert and independent arbitrator, based in Paris.
She has worked for fifteen years in two of the most renowned international arbitration groups of global law firms and in an arbitration boutique specialised in Africa-related arbitration, before establishing her own practice in 2022.
Athina has significant experience in Africa-related arbitration, as well as in arbitration involving States and State entities.
She is a member of the ICC Court, a member of the organising committee of Paris Arbitration Week and a founding member and former co-chair of AfricArb. She is a member of the Arbitration Committee of ICC Greece and of its arbitrator nominations commission. She is a CIArb Fellow, the treasurer of the European Branch of the CIArb, and its representative at the Working Group 2 of UNCITRAL. She publishes, teaches and speaks in conferences on issues of arbitration, international law and contract law.
Athina is a Greek citizen, and a member of the Bar Associations in Paris and in Athens.
Ms. Erica Stein is an independent arbitrator acting in international commercial and investment arbitrations.
Erica’s broad work experience in all aspects of arbitral practice (as arbitrator, counsel, and at leading arbitral institutions) makes her a versatile arbitrator. She can find the right approach to manage each case and situation in a balanced yet decisive manner. Having studied and worked in both common and civil law jurisdictions, Erica is comfortable running procedures incorporating either or both legal traditions. What matters to Erica is resolving disputes efficiently by adapting the procedure to what the parties want, the nature of the case, and the applicable legal and procedural framework.
A national of the United States and Belgium, Erica is fluent in English, French, Spanish, and German, and can run proceedings in each of those languages. She is also conversant in Dutch and Italian.
Erica is a member of the New York and Brussels bars.
Mr. Jean-François Tossens, Hanotiau Tossens Goldman, has a longstanding experience of national and international arbitration, as counsel and arbitrator, in various sectors such as post-acquisition disputes, commercial contracts, construction cases, distribution law or aeronautics. He has also been involved in numerous arbitration related court proceedings (enforcement and annulment proceedings).
A member of the Brussels bar, Jean-François Tossens teaches arbitration and ADR law at the UCLouvain. He is a member of the board of directors of ICC Belgium and has been a member of the board of CEPANI until 2023. He was co-editor in chief of the Belgian Review for Arbitration b-Arbitra from 2013 to 2020 and he has been chairing the arbitration association Francarbi since 2022.
Practical information
Programme :
September 28, 2026 - class 7 : Aspects of International Arbitration (I), Prof. Benoit Allemeersch and Prof. Olivier Caprasse and @CEPANI - VBO/FEB premises, Rue Ravenstein 4 Ravensteinstraat, 1000 Brussels, as from 1pm to 7pm
November 5, 2026 - class 8 : Aspects of International Arbitration (II), Prof. Jean-François Tossens and Ms. Athina Fouchard Papaefstratiou @CEPANI - VBO/FEB premises, Rue Ravenstein 4 Ravensteinstraat, 1000 Brussels, as from 1pm to 7pm
December 3, 2026 - class 9 : International Investment Law and Arbitration, Prof. Eric De Brabandere and Ms. Erica Stein @CEPANI - VBO/FEB premises, Rue Ravenstein 4 Ravensteinstraat, 1000 Brussels, as from 1pm to 7pm
Price:
Early Bird (for everyone) until Monday September 30, 2026:
€ 450,00 per class - € 1.150,00 all classesCEPANI /CEPANI 40/ IBJ -IJE Member:
€500,00 per class - €1.350,00 all classesNon member:
€600,00 per class - € 1.600,00 all classesPrices are VAT exclusive.
Given that places are limited, only registrations confirmed by CEPANI are valid.
All cancellations must be communicated to CEPANI at least 3 working days before the day of the event in order to be taken into consideration.
September 28, 2026 - class 7 : Aspects of International Arbitration (I), Prof. Benoit Allemeersch Prof. Olivier Caprasse
The CEPANI Arbitration Academy’s international-level first class offers a thorough deep dive into the practical and strategic foundations of international arbitration, guided by some of the field’s most respected experts.
The session opens with an introduction to international arbitration, highlighting the key principles and procedural framework of the ICC and CEPANI Rules, the crucial role of the Secretariat, interactions with counsel, appointment procedures, and those practical questions participants often hesitate to ask about the ICC and CEPANI.
It then addresses the design and organization of arbitral procedure, focusing on key strategic choices such as the seat of arbitration, applicable law and complex language issues that can significantly impact the efficiency and fairness of proceedings.
The afternoon concludes with a session on conflicts of interest, offering a practical analysis of the IBA Guidelines, discussion of real-life cases, and guidance on how counsel and arbitrators should respond when faced with potential ethical challenges.
November 5, 2026 - class 8 : Aspects of International Arbitration (II) - Prof. Jean-François Tossens and Ms. Athina Fouchard Papaefstratiou
This advanced training session offers a structured exploration of three core pillars of international arbitration practice: enforcement of arbitral awards, evidentiary procedure, and confidentiality management.
The programme opens with a comparative analysis of the role of public policy under the New York Convention as a ground for refusing recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards. It examines how public policy is interpreted across jurisdictions, the extent to which state courts may review alleged violations, and other potential refusal grounds under the Convention.
After a short break, the focus shifts to document production in arbitration, highlighting the central role of documentary evidence in proceedings. The session addresses effective ways of organising and presenting documents, different categories of evidence, procedural mechanisms for requesting production, and practical use of the IBA Rules on the Taking of Evidence, including tools such as the Redfern Schedule.
The final segment explores confidentiality in international arbitration, analysing its scope and limits as a fundamental principle. It covers different types of confidentiality clauses, obligations of parties and participants in the process, and practical solutions for handling sensitive information during proceedings, such as redactions and procedural safeguards.
December 3, 2026 - class 9 : International Investment Law and Arbitration, Prof. Eric De Brabandere and Ms. Erica Stein
This class explores the foundations and the key features and practice of international investment treaties, covering both substantive investment law, and international investment arbitration. The first part of this class provides participants with a general overview of the fundamental principles of international investment law, i.e. the international standards for the protection of investments based on the contemporary investment law regime composed of international investment agreements (IIAs). This part will offer an overview and in-depth analysis of the main standards such as fair and equitable treatment, and the rules governing direct and indirect expropriation.
The second part of this class focuses on investor-state arbitration based on IIAs. Specific attention will be given to the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), which administers the majority of investment arbitrations, and which contains specific features which differ from arbitration under the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules amongst others. Aside from the covering the main concepts and principles, this class also delves into specific procedural aspects, such as the challenge of awards and the rules on transparency. Special attention also will be given to the current reform proposals taking place at UNCITRAL Working Group III.
By the end, participants will have gained a thorough understanding of both the legal foundations and practical dynamics of treaty-based investment arbitration.