60th anniversary

A gala event celebrating the 60th anniversary of the founding of the PCC Court of Arbitration took place on 18 November at the Royal Castle in Warsaw, under the honorary patronage of the President of the Republic of Poland, Bronisław Komorowski. The conference, “The Law, Economy, Arbitration”, attracted many notable guests, who listened with interest to a lecture on arbitration and the economy.

Many distinguished representatives of the legal and business communities, as well as of politics and the media, took part in the anniversary celebrations.  Among the guests were Krzysztof Hubert Łaszkiewicz, Secretary of State at the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, Senator Jan Wyrowiński, Piotr Kluz – Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Justice, Bohdan Zdziennicki – President of the Constitutional Tribunal, Prof. Lech Gardocki – President of the Supreme Court, Prof. Tadeusz Ereciński – President of the Supreme Court’s Civil Chamber, Andrzej Arendarski – President of the Polish Chamber of Commerce, and many others.

The celebrations began with an academic conference, which attracted many experts on arbitration from Poland and abroad, as well as representatives of the business community.

The event was opened by Mr Marek Furtek, President of the PCC Court of Arbitration, who spoke about the special role of the PCC Court of Arbitration and its responsibility as one of the most important arbitration jurisdictions in Europe.

Lectures were given by:

• Prof. Józef Okolski – honorary President of the PCC CoA – “Arbitration – Between the Economy and the Law: Anniversary Reflections”,
• Prof. Marek Safjan, judge of the European Court of Justice – “The Europeisation of Private Law”,
• Prof. Witold M. Orłowski – Director of the Business School at Warsaw Technical University – “The Law and the Economy – Mutual Dependencies and Relations”,
• Prof. Stanisław Sołtysiński – honorary PhD of the Warsaw School of Economics, partner with the law offices of SK&S – “Arbitration at the Threshold of a New Century: Principles and Challenges”,
• Prof. Mirosław Wyrzykowski – Judge of the Constitutional Tribunal – “The Constitutional Nature of Legal Thought”
• Dr Fryderyk Zoll, Professor at Jagiellonian University – “Arbitration Practice in Light of Draft European Contract Law”.

In the last presentation, Marek Furtek, President of the PCC CoA, announced a plan for work on new procedural rules, discussed the experience of the institution he manages, and announced the continuation of actions aimed at popularising arbitration and mediation as well as making business people aware of the benefits offered by these forms of dispute resolution.

To mark its anniversary, the court issued a memorial book that includes articles by prominent legal specialists. The publication was presented to guests at Royal Castle gala.