During the upcoming 2026 edition of Paris Arbitration Week (“PAW”), Rajah & Tann Asia will host a panel discussion titled “Beyond the Passport: Is Nationality a Reliable Proxy for Neutrality?”
In an era of heightened geopolitical tension, expanding sanctions regimes, and increasingly polarised international relations, nationality-based considerations in the selection of arbitrators have resurfaced with renewed intensity. But does an arbitrator’s passport genuinely signal anything about their impartiality? Or has nationality become an increasingly unreliable proxy for neutrality in contemporary international arbitration?
The discussion will bring together practitioners and arbitrators from across jurisdictions to examine how nationality is considered in practice by arbitral institutions, counsel, and tribunals, and whether the current framework strikes the right balance between perceived neutrality and access to the most qualified decision-makers.
The panel will feature Rajah & Tann Singapore speakers Kelvin Poon, SC (Deputy Managing Partner and Head, International Arbitration), and Dr Vanina Sucharitkul (Partner, International Arbitration), and Michelle Li (Head, International Arbitration, Construction & Projects (China)), with distinguished guest speakers Yves Derains (Founding Partner, Derains & Gharavi), Vladimir Khvalei (Partner, Mansors), and Victoria Orlowski (Of Counsel, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP).
The discussion will address key aspects of independence and impartiality in relation to an arbitrator’s nationality, including:
- the impact of contemporary geopolitical dynamics on party expectations regarding arbitrator nationality;
- the extent to which more probative indicators of potential bias, including repeat appointments, professional networks, and institutional affiliations, may be obscured by an overemphasis on nationality;
- the ways in which arbitral institutions approach nationality in appointments and challenges; and
- the extent to which nationality remains meaningful where passports diverge from lived reality, including through permanent residence, cultural immersion, or decades of practice abroad.
PAW is the most attended event for arbitration practitioners around the globe. The Rajah & Tann Asia event will be held at the Hyatt Paris Madeleine on Wednesday, 25 March 2026 from 16:30 to 18:00, followed by a cocktail reception from 18:00 to 19:00. For more information and to register for the event, please click here.
Kelvin Poon, SC
Dr. Vanina Sucharitkul
