Washington Arbitration Week 2026 (7th Edition, Hybrid, 26-30 October 2026)

Washington Arbitration Week (WAW) is an annual forum on international arbitration held in Washington, D.C., the seat of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and home to law firms, international organisations, US federal agencies, embassies and law schools active in investment and commercial arbitration. The seventh edition, WAW 2026, runs from Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026 and brings together practitioners, arbitrators, academics, government officials and students from the United States and around the world.

WAW was founded by José Antonio Rivas (Xtrategy LLP) and Ian A. Laird (Crowell & Moring). Since its first edition in 2020 it has hosted 102 panels with 510 speakers and 8,032 attendees. The 2026 programme is published in the official WAW 2026 brochure and on the organiser's calendar, where each panel can be booked for in-person or Zoom attendance.

WAW 2026 is hybrid. The panels are held in person at the offices of sponsoring law firms and expert firms in Washington, D.C., and the organiser's calendar offers two registration options for each of them: Virtual (join online via Zoom) and In-person (attend at the venue). The one exception is the ICSID 60th anniversary panel and reception at the World Bank on Wednesday 28 October, which is registered through a separate Microsoft Form and has no Zoom option on the calendar.

• Monday 26 October: Womble Bond Dickinson and Cornerstone Research (2001 K St NW), Bates White (2001 K St NW, Tower Suite 500), NERA (2112 Pennsylvania Ave NW)
• Tuesday 27 October: Crowell & Moring (600 Fifth St NW), JAMS (1050 K St NW, Suite 800), Baker Botts (700 K St NW)
• Wednesday 28 October: Xtrategy LLP and Wordstone Dispute Resolution (1400 16th St NW), Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman (1200 17th St NW), World Bank (1818 H St NW) for the ICSID 60th anniversary panel
• Thursday 29 October: Steptoe (1330 Connecticut Ave NW), The Brattle Group (1800 M St NW), White & Case (701 13th St NW)
• Friday 30 October: Compass Lexecon (555 12th St NW), Hughes Hubbard & Reed (1775 I St NW), ArentFox Schiff (1717 K St NW)

Daily sessions run from about 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM Washington, D.C. time (EDT). For participants in India that is 6:30 PM to 3:00 AM IST, so morning panels in Washington fall in the Indian evening and late-afternoon panels after midnight IST.

Monday 26 October

• Beyond the BIT: Contractual Claims in ISDS (9:00 AM EDT)
• Taxes in Investment Treaties, Tax Regulations, and Tax-Related Investment Disputes (10:25 AM)
• To Infinity and Compliance: AI, Ethics, and Dispute Resolution in the Space Economy (11:55 AM)
• 250 Years since the United States Declaration of Independence: Influence of the U.S. in International Law, Dispute Resolution and Investment Disputes (2:00 PM)
• Geopolitical Risk in Damages Calculation (3:30 PM)

Tuesday 27 October

• From Precedent to Practice: Historical Claims Commissions and the Ukraine ICC (9:00 AM)
• Challenging the Tribunal: Bias, Diversity, Jurisdiction, and Judicial Intervention in Investment Arbitration (10:25 AM)
• The New Era of Mediation: Commercial and Investor-State Disputes in a Changing World (12:00 PM)
• AI in the Tribunal Room: Tool, Risky Gadget, or Responsibility for Arbitrators? (1:25 PM)
• Investment Projects, Arbitration, and the Communities Caught in Between (3:00 PM)
• Corruption in International Investment and Commercial Projects (4:25 PM), followed by a reception at Baker Botts

Wednesday 28 October

• Influence of International Advisory Opinions on Climate Change on States' Defenses and Investors' Claims (9:00 AM)
• Lore and Order: An ICSID Rules Retrospective (10:25 AM)
• Enforcing Arbitral Awards Against States: Sovereign Immunity, U.S. Court Litigation and Structural Barriers to Investment Award Enforcement (12:00 PM)
• The U.S. as Foreign Policy Actor: OFAC, CFIUS and Arbitration (1:25 PM)
• One Center, 60 Years, Enduring Impact: ICSID and the Future of Investor-State Dispute Settlement (4:00 PM, World Bank), followed by the ICSID cocktail reception

Thursday 29 October

• War, Tariffs, Illicit Trade and Trade Wars: Force Majeure and the Evolving Arbitration Docket (9:00 AM)
• Emerging Sectors and Digital Assets: Data Centers, IP, Blockchain, Crypto, and Enforcement Challenges (10:25 AM)
• Mining in International Arbitration: Africa, Latin America, Resource Nationalism and Quantum Challenges (12:00 PM)
• UNCITRAL at 60 and ISDS Reform: Has a New Architecture Finally Emerged? (1:25 PM)
• The Quantum Challenge: Expert Witness Cross-Examination Workshop, presented with PwC and White & Case (3:00 PM), followed by a reception at White & Case

Friday 30 October

• Splitting the Atom: Nuclear Related Disputes and the Role of Arbitration (9:00 AM)
• Technology Enabled Arbitration, Running Arbitration Smarter: Rapid Fire Tech and AI Demos for Practitioners (10:40 AM)
• Building the Next Generation of Arbitration Leaders: Practical Skills, Mentorship, Sponsorship, and Career Advancement (12:10 PM)
• Quantum Computing: The Next Frontier in International Arbitration (1:45 PM)
• Isolation to Integration? Incorporating General International Law, Environmental Law, and Human Rights into Investment Arbitration through Article 31(3)(c) of the VCLT (3:15 PM), followed by the closing reception

Speakers, moderators and full panel descriptions are in the official brochure. Pre-week side events listed on the calendar are the LATAP US launch on Friday 23 October and the WAW x DC Arbitration Runners 5K on Sunday 25 October, both with their own external registration.

As part of WAW 2026 the organiser invites applications for an immersive Expert Witness Cross-Examination Workshop, presented in partnership with PwC and White & Case LLP, on Thursday 29 October 2026 at 3:00 PM EDT at White & Case, 701 13th St NW. Participants may apply individually or as a team through the organiser's workshop registration form (linked below): individual applicants give their name, email, phone number, affiliation, designation and a short biography; team applicants give their team members' details. The form states no fee and no closing date, so apply well before 29 October. Those who only wish to watch the workshop can register as audience through the WAW calendar like any other panel.

The organiser describes WAW as a platform for practitioners, arbitrators, academics, public officials and students, and welcomes newcomers and experienced practitioners alike. No eligibility restriction is stated. Indian law students, researchers and practitioners can attend any panel online via Zoom; those in Washington, D.C. during the week can register for in-person seats at the host offices.

The organiser's website, the WAW 2026 brochure and the registration calendar do not list any registration fee, and the registration form has no payment step: virtual attendees enter an email address and are taken to the Zoom registration page for the panel after confirming; in-person attendees enter their name, email, organisation, job title and phone number.

Registration is per panel on the organiser's WAW calendar (the registration link below). Open the calendar, move to October 2026, select the panel you want to attend, choose Virtual (Zoom) or In-person and submit the registration form. A confirmation email follows; virtual registrants are then redirected to the Zoom registration page for that panel.

The ICSID 60th anniversary panel and cocktail reception at the World Bank on Wednesday 28 October use a separate Microsoft Form (linked below). The organiser has not published a registration closing date: registration stays open on the calendar in the run-up to each panel, and the week opens on Monday 26 October 2026 at 9:00 AM EDT (6:30 PM IST), so register before the week begins.