ICC Germany Arbitration Day

06 May 2026

Frankfurt English
Start: 10:00 (Frankfurt) || End: 18:00 (Frankfurt)

Join us for insightful discussions with Claudia Salomon, President of the ICC International Court of Arbitration, alongside leading arbitration experts and corporate practitioners. Together, we will explore current trends and challenges in alternative dispute resolution.

09:00 – 09:30

Registration and Coffee

09:30 – 09:35

Welcome remarks

  • Oliver Wieck, Secretary-General, ICC Germany, Berlin

09:35-10:15

In Focus: Revamping the ICC Arbitration Rules – Towards Enhanced Clarity and Efficiency

The new ICC Rules of Arbitration will enter into force on 1 June 2026. This session will provide a preview of the new Rules, highlighting key changes and the reasoning behind them.

  • Claudia Salomon, President, ICC International Court of Arbitration
  • Rolf Trittmann, Partner, Rothorn Legal, Frankfurt; Vice President, ICC International Court of Arbitration
  • Marieke van Hooijdonk, Independent Arbitrator, Amsterdam; Vice President, ICC International Court of Arbitration

10:15-11:15

Panel I: Dispute Resolution in International Defence Projects – Choose your Battles Wisely

International defence projects present unique legal and commercial challenges that demand sophisticated approaches to dispute resolution. This panel brings together in-house counsel of leading corporates in the defence industry to examine how disputes arise in cross-border defence projects. From navigating typical pittfalls in such disputes to safeguarding classified information, our panellists will share practical insights drawn from their extensive experience in this highly specialised field.

  • Johannes Schulz, Senior Legal Counsel, TKMS AG & Co. KGaA , Hamburg
  • Dr. Holger Strnad, Head of Legal Operations MDS, ESG, Hensoldt AG, München
Moderators:
  • Dr. Elke Umbeck, Partner, Heuking, Hamburg
  • Dr. Jonas Pust, Salaried Partner, Heuking, Hamburg

11:15-11:25

Short break

11:25-12:25

Panel II: Arbitration Unplugged – In-house Counsel Speak Up

What do businesses really expect from arbitration today? In a world shaped by geopolitical tensions, geo-economic shifts, and increasing regulatory pressure, in-house counsel are rethinking how disputes should be resolved. This panel puts corporate voices centre stage. Senior in-house counsel share their unfiltered insights and real world experiences and voice their expectations towards arbitrators and arbitral institutions – from procedural efficiency and case management to strategic awareness, transparency, and enforceability. Engage in meaningful conversations that challenge the status quo and envision the future of arbitration.

  • Dr. Arno Gildemeister, Global Head of Legal Risk, TÜV Rheinland Group, Cologne
  • Dr. Patricia Nacimiento, Partner, Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP, Frankfurt am Main
  • Andrea Potparevic Nikolic, Legal Counsel, CML Construction Services, STRABAG SE, Milan
  • Dr. Alexander Steinbrecher, Chief Legal Officer, Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe, Berlin
  • Dr. Sabrina Streicher, Head of Litigation and Dispute Resolution, BASF

Moderator:

  • Catrice Gayer, Partner, Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP, Düsseldorf

12:25-13:30

Networking lunch

13:30-14:30

Panel III: Confidentiality in Arbitration Proceedings – Myth or Reality?

Confidentiality is often cited as one of arbitration’s key advantages – but how absolute is it in practice? A panel of leading practitioners and in-house counsel will discuss practical challenges, legal limits, and emerging trends in maintaining confidentiality, from sensitive commercial disputes to cross-border enforcement issues. Join us for a candid discussion on whether confidentiality in arbitration is truly guaranteed – or more myth than reality.

  • Dr. Julia Egyptien, Senior Legal Counsel, Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe AG, Duisburg
  • Dr. Karsten Grillitsch, Senior Legal Counsel, Robert Bosch GmbH, Stuttgart
  • Ulrich Kopetzki, Acting Director for Europe, ICC Dispute Resolution Services, Paris
  • Dirk von Manikowsky, Partner, FGS Global, Düsseldorf

Moderator:

  • Dr. Andrea Leufgen, Partner, Gleiss Lutz, Frankfurt am Main

14:30-14:40

Impulse talk

A call for action to improve the efficiency of dispute resolution.

  • Max Stein, Partner, Skadden, Frankurt am Main

14:40-15:00

Coffee break and networking

15:00-16:00

Panel IV: Fueling the Future: Cutting-Edge Developments in Energy Disputes

Join leading practitioners and industry experts as they examine the latest trends and challenges in energy-related arbitration across key sectors. The panel will discuss how market shifts, regulatory changes, and geopolitical developments are reshaping the energy dispute landscape. Attendees will gain insights into sector-specific issues, innovative dispute resolution strategies, and the growing influence of geopolitics and the energy transition on arbitration practice.

  • Bianca Benndorf, Head of Legal, Renewables, ERG Germany GmbH, Hamburg
  • Florian Cahn, VP Legal Patents Insurance & General Counsel, Framatome GmbH, Erlangen
  • Katja Hänisch, Senior Legal Counsel, Uniper Global Commodities SE, Düsseldorf
  • Merwan Lomri, Senior Disputes Manager, TotalEnergies, Paris
  • Carlo Ottaviano, General Counsel, TenneT TSO GmbH, Düsseldorf
Moderator: 
  • Dr. Markus Burianski, Partner, White & Case LLP, Frankfurt am Main

16:00-16:10

Short break

16:10-17:10

Panel V: Re-Engineering Arbitration: Choices Shaping Tomorrow’s Dispute Resolution Workflows in an AI-Assisted World

As all participants in dispute resolution invest heavily in process design and technology, parts of the arbitration lifecycle that have been bespoke and counsel-driven are becoming standardised and integrated. The rapid adoption of AI tools is accelerating this shift.

For users, these developments create new possibilities for cost control, predictability and portfolio management. For the actors, they raise questions about who should design and own each part of the process and in particular whether the full potential of these possibilities can realistically be unlocked through collaboration between counsel or whether norms and structures will need to be imposed through procedural orders and institutional rules.

This panel brings together representatives of collaborative digital platform providers alongside counsel, to explore how these developments are reshaping case management, evidential workflows and the preparation of submissions, and what this means for party autonomy, case strategy and effective advocacy in an increasingly process-driven and AI-assisted world.

  • Audrey Abbott, Senior Director - Construction, Projects, & Assets, FTI Consulting, Berlin
  • Dr. Nathalie Lengert, Head of Commercial Litigation, Nokia, Munich
  • Caroline Zand-Korteweg, Director of AI and Market Development, Opus 2, Amsterdam
Moderator: 
  • Robert Hunter, Partner, Osborne Clarke, Cologne

17:10-17:15

Closing remarks

  • Oliver Wieck, Secretary-General, ICC Germany, Berlin

17:15-18:30

Reception

18:00 – 20:30 

Speaker Dinner (Participation is restricted to in-house counsel by invitation, panelists, and one representative per partnering law firm.)

Claudia Salomon

President, ICC International Court of Arbitration

Marieke van Hooijdonk

Independent Arbitrator, Amsterdam; Vice President, ICC International Court of Arbitration

Rolf Trittmann

Partner, Rothorn Legal, Frankfurt; Vice President, ICC International Court of Arbitration

Venue

Gesellschaftshaus Palmengarten
Room „Orchidee"
Palmengartenstraße 11
60325 Frankfurt am Main

Working language English
Registration

ICC Germany Arbitration Day 2026 - ICC Germany

When you click to register for the event above, you leave the ICC website and are redirected to the event co-organizer website. Your personal information will be collected by the event co-organizer in accordance with its own privacy policy. Among other things, the privacy policy provides that the event co-organizer will share your personal data with ICC for the purpose of providing event services, in which case the ICC Privacy policy will also apply

For further information, please contact:

Dana Enss

Policy Manager, ICC Germany

Dana.Enss@iccgermany.de

Organiser

Partner

Supporters