Kluwer Arbitration Quiz Live Replay: 2026 ICCA Quiz - Answers

So, how did you go on the 2026 ICCA Arbitration Quiz? See the answers to the questions below. Score yourself to see whether you are a true arbitration nerd or need to brush up on your arbitration trivia. Fortunately, you have two years until the Fourth Kluwer Arbitration Quiz Live, to be held at ICCA in San Francisco 2028.

Congratulations to Huy Nguyen of YKVN LLP who submitted the most correct answers. We will be in contact shortly regarding your prize. A close runner-up and honourable mention also goes to Arijit Sanyal of Skywards Law.

Question 1

Which English political figure attempted to convince the legislature to adopt arbitration as a faster means of resolving commercial disputes in 1601?

a.      Queen Elizabeth

b.      William Shakespeare

c.       Francis Bacon

d.      Russel Brand

Answer: Francis Bacon

This interesting historical fact was uncovered by arbitration historian Derek Roebuck in ‘The Golden Age of Arbitration: Dispute Resolution under Elizabeth I’. Neil Kaplan remarked upon the discovery in an obituary published in Arbitration: The International Journal of Arbitration, Mediation and Dispute Management:

Who else would have found a passage from Hansard in 1601 where Mr Francis Bacon in introducing a Bill on Marine Insurance tells the House of Commons that they should note the recommendation in the Bill that disputes should be referred to arbitration. Why? Well simply because the courts were too slow and they also lacked subject matter expertise. More than four centuries later in some parts of the world we can say ‘plus ça change’

Question 2

Which of the Due Process Crew is a former Chair of the IBA Arbitration Committee and was involved in drafting both the IBA Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest and IBA Rules on the Taking of Evidence?

Answer: David Arias

This was a tricky one as all three panellists are former Chairs of the IBA Arbitration Committee. However, it was David Arias who previously chaired the Subcommittee on Conflicts of Interest, which published the 2014 IBA Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest in International Arbitration, and who helped draft the 2010 IBA Rules on the Taking of Evidence in International Arbitration.

Question 3

True or False: Legal fiction writer John Grisham’s 2023 novel The Exchange draws inspiration from an investment treaty claim filed by a Turkish construction company against Libya in 2016?

Answer: True

This one is true. The background underlying John Grisham’s 2023 novel The Exchange draws on Etrak Insaat Taahut ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi v Libya, ICC Case No. 22236/ZF/AYZ. Anyone present at this year’s Swiss Arbitration Summit would have had a headstart after this fact was shared by Mehmet Kahli, a member of the Claimant’s counsel team, in a panel on Legal Tools for Business Driven Arbitration.

Question 4

True or False: Third-party funding is not permitted for arbitrations seated in Spain?

Answer: False.

There is no prohibition on third-party funding under Spanish law. However, as explained in this article on commercial arbitration in Spain:

Spanish arbitration laws and civil procedure rules do not refer to third-party funding. However, there are no laws that apply to arbitration or civil procedure prohibiting third-party funding. Some funders are providing financial support to arbitration claims in Spain and have established offices in Spain for this purpose. The practitioners’ consensus is that third-party funding should be accepted. Nevertheless, the lack of legal framework or court decisions on the matter creates uncertainties regarding the consequences of third-party funding in related matters, such as security for costs, awards of costs against third-party funders or valid assignment of claims to the funder.

Question 5

How many arbitrators does it take to change a light bulb and why?

Our favorite answer received in response to the post was from Arjit Sanjal: None. On a rare occasion the tribunal agreed that the secretary could resolve a purely logistical issue. This has neatly prevented parties from challenging the subsequent award for poor lighting in the room.'

At the Live edition in Madrid, the audience voted the winning answer from a member of the audience, Sameer Jain: ‘None, because the Tribunal Secretary will probably do it’.

We're sensing a pattern here!

Question 6

Which of this year’s three contestants was recently described as ‘very organised, very charming and a good arbitrator’ in recent Chambers rankings?

Answer: Audley Sheppard KC

While this could very easily apply to any of our distinguished panellists, this particular review was about Audley Sheppard KC.

Question 7

According to Kaplan and Bao, what is the most important thing for an arbitrator to do when drafting an award?

a.     Draw a smiley face next to your signature on the award

b.     Include a reasonably complete summary of the procedural history

c.     Ensure an enforceable award

Answer: Ensure an enforceable award

Kaplan and Bao explain as follows in Chapter 17 of ‘So, Now You are an Arbitrator: The Arbitrator’s Toolkit’:

There are two important aspects to drafting an award. The most important is to draft an enforceable award. This is a paramount duty of the Tribunal. This means that all procedural requirements at the seat of the arbitration have to be fulfilled. This means that the award has to be in writing and signed by the arbitrators. It must be final in that it must deal with all matters referred to the Tribunal.

Question 8

Do the Rules of the International and Ibero-American Madrid Arbitration Center allow for an appeal against the award?

a.      No

b.      Yes, on an opt-in basis

c.       Yes, on an opt-out basis

Answer: b. Yes, on an opt-in basis.

Article 52 of the Rules of the International and Ibero-American Madrid Arbitration Center provides as follows:

52. Optional challenge to the award If the parties have so agreed in the arbitration agreement or at any time thereafter before the appointment of any arbitrator, either party may challenge the final award in the arbitration before the Center. In such a case, the provisions of Annex 4 shall apply.

Question 9

Which arbitral institution based in Asia was recently featured in a Korean drama on Netflix?

Answer: SIAC

In 2025, the Singapore International Arbitration Centre was featured in an episode of Netflix’s ‘Beyond the Bar’. Singapore’s Minister of Law and Second Minister for Home Affairs, Mr Edwin Tong SC, even recognised the momentous occasion in his keynote address at the 2025 SIAC Symposium:

SIAC is also featured prominently among the world’s most preferred arbitral institutions. But perhaps the best testament to SIAC’s popularity is its appearance in the K-drama – “Beyond the Bar” – now streaming on Netflix! So that is when we know that SIAC has really arrived.

You can read our coverage of the 2025 SIAC Symposium on the Blog here and here.

Question 10

In which of these countries is the Kluwer Arbitration Blog is NOT read?

a.      Central African Republic

b.      Solomon Islands

c.       Greenland (Denmark)

d.      Gabon

e.      Australia

Answer: a. Central African Republic

The Kluwer Arbitration Blog is read in almost all the countries around the world. Unfortunately, the Central African Republic is not yet one of them. Neither the Due Process Crew nor any of our readers playing at home got this one right. 

Of course, it was not b or e with the Blog read widely throughout Australia and the Pacific Islands – see the 2025 year in review for a recap of developments in the region. 

Question 11

Which musical act reportedly settled a dispute through arbitration in 2025?

a.      John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival.

b.      Hall & Oates

c.       Oasis

d.      The Police

Answer: b. Hall & Oates

In August 2025, the Guardian reported that Daryl Hall and John Oates resolved through arbitration a business partnership dispute that had previously been before the courts in Nashville.

This wasn’t an easy question though. While Oasis is famous for their in-fighting and the Police have ongoing disputes, neither have been subject to arbitration (at least as far as we know). Sting has been sued in the High Court of England & Wales by former bandmates for alleged outstanding royalties, while the most recent legal controversy relating to Oasis was an investigation by the UK Competition and Markets Authority into pricing and ticket sales for the recent reunion tour.

A company owned by John Fogerty was, however, involved in a JAMS arbitration against an Australian events company over the cancellation of a performance. The matter came before the Queensland Supreme Court in Australia in SFP Events Pty Ltd v Little Swamp II Inc [2024] QSC 132 who stayed the proceedings in recognition of the principles of kompetenz-kompetenz and separability of the arbitration agreement.

Question 12

Which of the following types of assets have NOT been subject to efforts to execute against a State or SOE?

a.      Trademarks in popular vodka brands

b.      The personal plane of a crown prince

c.       The Swiss watch collection of the President’s brother

d.      A 7-bedroom home in north London with ‘luxury en suite bathrooms, an indoor swimming pool and a suede-lined cinema room’

Answer: c. The Swiss watch collection of the President’s brother.

Enforcement against States and State-owned entities remains a hot topic in international arbitration. As reported here, here and here vodka trademarks, the Thai Crown Prince’s personal plane and a luxury home in London linked to Muammar Gaddafi have all been the subject of attempts to execute arbitral awards.

Question 13

Under which arbitration rules may the two party-appointed arbitrators proceed alone until the substantive hearing or their first disagreement?

a.     AAA Healthcare Payor Provider Arbitration Rules

b.     London Maritime Arbitrators’ Association Rules

c.     Grain and Feed Trade Association Rules

Answer: b. London Maritime Arbitrators’ Association Rules

See section 9 of the LMAA Terms, which provides as follows:

9. Subject to the terms of the arbitration agreement, if the tribunal is to consist of two arbitrators and an umpire:

(a) each party shall appoint one arbitrator not later than 14 days after service of a request in writing by either party to do so;

(b) the two so appointed may appoint an umpire at any time after they themselves are appointed and shall do so before any substantive hearing or forthwith if they cannot agree on any matter relating to the arbitration, and if the two said arbitrators do not appoint an umpire within 14 days of one calling upon the other to do so.

Question 14

True or False: The AAA Healthcare Payor Provider Arbitration Rules are a real set of arbitration rules.

Answer: True.

In contrast with most other institutions with one set of rules applicable to all disputes, the American Arbitration Association has a suite of industry-specific arbitration rules. And, indeed, one of them is the AAA Healthcare Payor Provider Arbitration Rules.

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Thanks for playing along! We hope to see you in person at the live Quiz at the 2028 ICCA Congress in San Francisco.