Professor Emilia Onyema will deliver the opening keynote of the 2026 London Summer Arbitration School at 17:30 (London time) on Friday, 19 June. The keynote will examine the role of the arbitrator in the age of AI. The event is open to public to attend in the online format. Please register here.
Traditionally, our understanding is that the arbitrator exercises independent judgment to decide the dispute submitted to them. This, the arbitrator does through identifying the relevant facts and law to apply. This is a fundamental distinguishing factor of the arbitrator which impacts the skills appointors look for in individuals they appoint. “Individuals” connote human beings who exercise these faculties to perform the role.
Now we have machines and software who may be joining this category of “individuals” and this is changing our understanding of who the arbitrator can/should be, the skills they should possess and what they do in the arbitration process. Professor Onyema will explore these issues in her keynote, particularly in the context of the expectations of the disputants.
Professor Emilia Onyema is Professor of International Commercial Law at SOAS University of London and a leading expert in international arbitration, particularly in relation to Africa. Qualified in Nigeria and as a solicitor in England & Wales, she combines academic work with extensive experience as arbitrator, counsel and expert witness in international disputes.
Professor Onyema is widely recognised for her work promoting arbitration in Africa. She convenes the SOAS Arbitration in Africa conference series, leads the SOAS Arbitration in Africa survey project, and co-authored the African Promise initiative, which promotes greater representation of African arbitrators in international proceedings. She also founded the Arbitration Fund for African Students (AFAS). She has published extensively on international commercial and investment arbitration and regularly speaks on issues relating to arbitration, diversity, and legal education.
