About
The Columbia International Arbitration Association (CIAA) is Columbia Law School's only student association focusing exclusively on the topic of international arbitration.
CIAA was formed in the fall of 2008 as a joint effort of the students in the J.D. and LL.M. programs with the generous support and guidance of Professor George A. Bermann. The organization tapped into an abundant reservoir of enthusiasm for the subject of international arbitration among students, academics, and practitioners and became an instant success. Since 2008, CIAA has hosted over 100 events to date, attracting worldwide attention and participation by some of the most prominent names in the field.
Related Organizations at Columbia Law School
The American Review of International Arbitration (ARIA)
The American Review of International Arbitration is a quarterly law review that publishes scholarly articles, commentaries on recent developments, case notes, and other materials relating to international commercial arbitration. It is the only publication of its kind in the United States, and also one of the leading publications in the field internationally. International arbitration itself is a dynamic practice area of significant, ever-increasing importance due to the need for resolving commercial disputes in the expanding global economy.
Center for International Commercial & Investment Arbitration (CICIA)
The new Center for International Commercial and Investment Arbitration Law is designed to further the teaching and study of international arbitration, building on Columbia Law School’s well-established expertise in this growing legal practice.
Leading the center is Professor George A. Bermann ’75 LL.M., the Jean Monnet Professor of European Union Law, the Walter Gellhorn Professor of Law, and director of European Legal Studies. Faculty members and researchers include adjunct professors Alejandro Garro and Rob Smit, lecturers-in-law Thomas Johnson and Ian Laird, as well as Anthea Roberts, Professor of Law at Columbia Law School with a dual appointment at the London School of Economics and an authority on international investment law and arbitration.
“Columbia is in the enviable position of launching its new center with an outstanding array of programs and activities—and thus with an exceptionally high profile in international arbitration already in place,” Bermann said. “The center will attract new energies and give impetus to fresh initiatives that make an already vibrant situs for education and research in international arbitration still more vibrant.”
The center will expand Columbia’s reputation as a premier center for education, scholarship and student activity in international arbitration law through additional programs, including a distinguished speaker series, a workshop series drawing upon scholars and practitioners in residence, and a formal annual lecture in international arbitration.
Columbia Arbitration Day (CAD)
Columbia Arbitration Day (CAD), the Columbia International Arbitration Association's (CIAA) largest annual event, is one of the premier international arbitration and CLE-accredited conferences in the country, bringing together scholars, practitioners, and students from all over the world for an annual discussion on the challenges that drive the international arbitration community. CAD is an all-day conference focusing on cutting-edge issues in both commercial and investment arbitration.