Virtual Diploma in International Maritime Arbitration

What are the entry requirements?

• Practising lawyers and other professionals who are familiar with legal reasoning and concepts and are involved in arbitration (domestic or international) and who wish to increase their knowledge and understanding of international maritime arbitration;

• Members or Fellows of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators who have experience of domestic arbitration practice and wish to extend their knowledge to include international maritime arbitration procedures.

English language competence - CIArb training and assessment is carried out in English. It is
therefore essential that candidates are proficient in both written and spoken English. Where
English is not a candidate’s first language it is recommended that they have achieved a standard
that is, as a minimum, equivalent to the International English Language Testing System (IELTS)
level 7 or a score of 94-101 in the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) system. CIArb
issues this advice as a guideline and, while it will not require any evidence of this standard
prior to enrolment on a course, candidates who do not have this standard of English may be
disadvantaged.

What are the learning outcomes?

On successful completion of the Diploma candidates will be able to:

• Define what is meant by the term ‘international maritime arbitration’;
• Identify, explain and apply the legal procedural principles, rules and agreements relevant to the conduct of international maritime arbitration:
• To The legal framework, including limitations of matters that may be legally arbitrated;
• To The contractual nature of the appointment of an arbitrator;
• To The range and limitations of an arbitrator’s powers and jurisdiction;
• To The rights, duties and responsibilities of a party to an arbitration;
• To The methods of initiating and processing an arbitration;
• To The relevance of the court regarding all stages in an arbitration;
• To The requirements of an enforceable award.
• Evaluate and apply the principles and legal requirements of international maritime arbitration;
• Evaluate issues and apply the principles of the UNCITRAL Model Law as well as a regional arbitration law, appropriately;
• Demonstrate practical skill in carrying out the tasks required in preparing for and progressing an international maritime arbitration;
• Demonstrate skill in controlling an international maritime arbitration, communicating effectively with the parties, applying the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules and other Institutional Arbitration Rules and adopting appropriate procedures.
• Recognising and evaluating evidence;
• The issues that arise from the parties’ submissions;
• Being able to create structure and deal with all the issues that arise;
• Deciding matters in dispute logically and in accordance with the law;
• The skills required to write awards correctly;
• The discursive and operative parts of the award;
• Being able to deal with the parties’ costs and interest of an award;
• Allocating arbitrators’ fees and expenses;
• Demonstrating compliance with the legal and other requirements for an enforceable Award.

The course is divided into three parts.

Part 1 Law, Practice and Procedure of International Maritime Arbitration: students receive training during the 9 days of the Diploma. They have to submit 300-word dissertation proposal two weeks in advance of the 9 days of training, and two months after the training, have to submit a 4,000 dissertation (80% of Part 1 Mark). They also have to submit two 1000-word assignments during the 9 days of training (worth 10% of the Part 1 Marks each).

Part 2 Law of Obligations:  The Diploma in International Maritime Arbitration aims at preparing candidates for FCIArb which is a mark of proficiency in dealing with evidence, decision making and award writing in international maritime arbitration. As the law of obligations provides an essential framework for this, candidates are required to show expertise in it. On the diploma, this is done via an online exemption test on the common law and civil law of contract and tort.

Students will be sent a link to the online multiple-choice test on the civil and common law of tort and contract. 30 questions will need to be answered within 90 minutes, with a pass mark of +70%, and this will need to be sat and passed before the Part 3, Evidence and Award Writing exam.

Part 3 Evidence and Award Writing: students will receive training during the 9 days of the Diploma on how to handle evidence and write awards, and will have to take a 4 hour Award Writing Exam three months after the Diploma.

The course is scheduled over 9 days.

For a copy of the programme, please email education@ciarb.org

Upon successful registration on the course, candidates will receive confirmation that they are booked on the course.

Joining instructions and course materials will be made available on LearnADR.