ICC Court of Arbitration – 2025.06.23

Title of the conference:

 “ICC Court of Arbitration: Connecting with the Legal Community of Macau” [conference held in English with 3 speakers, free admission, 18h30-20h]

Reflexões ao Cair da Tarde

Fundação Rui Cunha

23 Junho 2025, 6:30 pm– 7:45pm

Synopsis of the Conference

The International Court of Arbitration is the world’s leading arbitral institution. Since 1923, it has been helping to resolve disputes in international commercial and investment disputes. The Court administers arbitrations by exercising judicial supervision of arbitration proceedings, ensuring the proper application of the 2021 Arbitration Rules, and assisting parties and arbitrators. These efforts are supported by the Court’s Secretariat, made up of more than 100 lawyers and personal, operating in offices in Paris, New York, São Paulo, Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Hong Kong.

This event will kick off with a panel aiming to introduce the Macau legal community to the workings of the ICC Court of International Arbitration, by presenting its functioning and relevant statistics, in addition to explaining the role of the Secretariat and of the Court in its Arbitration and ADR services.

An overview of the legal framework of arbitration in Macau and its most current developments will also be presented.

The panel will be followed by a social and informal moment for the audience have direct contact with the panel speakers and thus promote the connection between the arbitration community of Macau and the ICC.

This event is of interest to businesses, in-house and external lawyers, government officials, judges, professors, and students who are interested in learning about the ICC, or in taking part in ICC arbitrations in the future as counsel, experts, or arbitrators.

Name of the speakers and their biographical information (summary)

From the ICC Arbitration and ADR services – Winnie Wat

Short bio: Ms. Winnie Wat is the Deputy Counsel of the Secretariat of the International Chamber of Commerce Arbitration. She is accredited as a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb) in 2021 and a mediator of the Center for Dispute Resolution (CEDR). Before joining the ICC, Ms. Wat was an international arbitration lawyer in a well-known international law firm, handling arbitration cases concerning aviation, construction and international trade. She assisted in the research work of the Third Party Funding for Arbitration Subcommittee of the Hong Kong Law Reform Commission. She is also a current member of the Appeal Panel of the Housing Bureau of the Hong Kong S.A.R. Government and was a member of The Jockey Club CPS Limited Advisory Committee for the overall management of the Tai Kwun, the revitalized historic Central Police Station Compound in Hong Kong.

 

From the ICC Court of Arbitration – Ana Coimbra Trigo

Short bio: Ana is a senior associate in the Dispute Resolution practice of PLMJ Law Firm. With 10 years’ experience, she regularly participates as counsel and tribunal secretary in international and domestic arbitrations (ICC, CAC, ad hoc) and related court proceedings, as well as in other civil and commercial litigation, including post-M&A matters, telecommunications, energy, aviation and real estate. She is a member of the ICC International Court of Arbitration for Macau, a guest lecturer at NOVA School of Law (Lisbon), where she coaches the NOVA Vis Moot team, and an ICFML Certified Mediator. She is also deputy director of the Portuguese International Journal of Arbitration and Conciliation (RIAC), a member of the Diversity Commission of the Lisbon Commercial Arbitration Centre and a member of the Secretariat of the Lusophone Arbitration Club (CAL). She holds a PhD in Law from NOVA School of Law (Lisbon). She has a law degree from the University of Coimbra and a master’s degree in European and International Law from the China-EU School of Law, China University of Political Science and Law (Beijing), awarded by the University of Hamburg.

 

C&C Lawyer – Mariana Afonso Esteves

Short bio: Mariana Afonso Esteves is a Senior Associate Lawyer at C&C Lawyers & Notaries, where she has been offering her expertise since 2009. Her practice areas encompass Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Mediation & Arbitration, Gaming Law, Insurance Law, Probate, Estate & Family Law, as well as Administrative & Public Law. She embarked on her legal career as a Trainee Lawyer at “Oliveira Antunes e Costa Manso, Associados” from 2003 to 2005, and subsequently as an Associate Lawyer at “Rui Cunha, Gloria Ribeiro & Associados” from 2006 to 2009. Mariana holds a Bachelor of Law degree from the University of Lisbon Law School. Her professional affiliations include registrations with the Macau Lawyers Association and the Portuguese Bar Association. She is proficient in Portuguese, English, and French

Sands China Ltd. – Fátima Dermawan

Short bio: Fátima, a graduate of the Faculty of Law at Universidade Nova de Lisboa and a master’s degree holder from Harvard Law School, has been a practicing lawyer in Portugal since 2013, in Macau since 2016, and in the State of New York since 2020.

Her professional journey commenced at a prominent law firm in Portugal, where she specialized in energy and international arbitration. In Macau, her primary areas of expertise include civil and criminal litigation and arbitration. She actively participates in dispute resolution processes, representing numerous national and international clients. Her responsibilities encompass negotiation and pre-litigation phases, as well as civil, criminal, and administrative legal proceedings and arbitration proceedings.

Presently, Fátima holds the position of Assistant General Counsel at Sands China Ltd., where she oversees the company’s litigation department.

Furthermore, Fátima has engaged as a lecturer in various postgraduate courses in the field of alternative dispute resolution and has served as a speaker at various seminars and conferences. Her contributions include publications on arbitration in different law journals.