Delegates at a recent costs conference hosted by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators heard civil law and common law perspectives on witness conferencing from the "inventor" of the concept, Swiss practitioner Wolfgang Peter, and UK barrister David Brynmor Thomas.

Herbert Smith partner Alastair Henderson, who has been based in Asia for nearly 20 years, says that enforcement in China and South-East Asia is better than when he first arrived but that success can vary greatly across the region.

UK arbitrator Julian Lew QC has warned that the non-adherence to the Model Law of the major arbitration jurisdictions - England, France, Sweden, Switzerland and the US - could prove a deterrent to parties seating their arbitrations in these countries as economic power shifts to other regions of the world.

A Swiss Arbitration Association conference in Zurich considered the role and practice of arbitral institutions, drawing on recent research by graduates of the Geneva MIDS programme. Urs Weber-Stecher, a partner at Wenger & Vieli in Zurich, reports.

Jeffrey Elkinson, deputy president of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and director and partner at Conyers Dill and Pearman in Bermuda, says the decision of the Hong Kong High Court in Gao Haiyan and Xie Heping v Keeneye Holdings may be a "wake-up call" for those in favour of the med-arb process.

Apparently for the first time at an international arbitration event, speakers at the recent APRAG conference in Kuala Lumpur focused on arbitration of Islamic banking and finance disputes. Nik Sarina Lugman Hashim, a partner at Ghani & Co in Kuala Lumpur who is writing a PhD thesis on the topic, reports.

A meeting of the European chapter of the ICC Young Arbitrators Forum included a lively trans-Tasman debate between Stuart Dutson of Eversheds and Audley Sheppard of Clifford Chance, who took on the roles of “academic Aussie” and “practical Kiwi”. The debate’s referee, Andy Moody of Eversheds, and his colleague Greg Falkov report.

Former and current government advisers from Australia, Ecuador, Norway, South Africa and the US met at the London School of Economics on 23 May to share their experiences of redrafting bilateral investment treaties. Ekaterina Finkel of Baker & McKenzie in London reports.

A panel organised by the Hong Kong under-45 group HK45 on 11 May considered the role of arbitral institutions in the future development of international arbitration - with innovation in cost-saving methods and revised rules emerging as paramount. Ula Cartwright-Finch, associate at Herbert Smith in Hong Kong, reports.