Chris Christofi met recently in Cyprus with the President of the European Court of Arbitration, Avv. Mauro Rubino-Sammartano.
Rubino-Sammartano was in Cyprus on an invitation co- hosted by the Italian Embassy in Nicosia, the University of Cyprus, Rotary International Nicosia and Yiannos Georgiades of Y. Georgiades and Associates, Nicosia, along with the Attorney General of Cyprus and the head of the Cypriot Judiciary for the establishment of the Cyprus Chapter of the European Court of Arbitration.
In an intimate atmosphere, Rubino-Sammartano spoke of his pleasure at being in a Mediterranean country, particularly with old links to Italy (Rubino-Sammartano is from Milan), and gave reasons why mediation and arbitration in all its forms could be particularly useful for disputes in Cyprus, where the court process is often prolonged. He spoke out against over complicated arbitrations and arbitrators who saw them as an opportunity to present findings as a reflective “work of art” , comments which he echoed in conversation with Chris Christofi later.
Rubino-Sammartano – who is an established author and is an associate of Littleton Chambers in Temple, London- discussed with Chris the value that lawyers who are already experienced in arbitration in the UK, and with a link to Cyprus, could bring to the arbitration process in Cyprus, both as parties who were familiar with the Cypriot system and Cypriot customs and as an independent party with no predisposition to local politics.
He also discussed with Chris the “human” element to arbitration, which he felt was sometimes missing from overcomplicated arbitrations, and looked forward to hearing from Chris about his experience with the membership of the Cyprus chapter.
Photo reproduced with permission from; Aziz Al Taany Photography
