The Dutch Arbitration Association will convene its annual conference, the Dutch Arbitration Day (DAD), on 18 June 2026 at the H'ART Museum in Amsterdam, according to a preview published on the Kluwer Arbitration Blog on 15 June 2026. The gathering is expected to draw around 300 practitioners, arbitrators, academics, experts, and in-house counsel from the Netherlands and abroad, under the theme "the Future of European Arbitration".
The programme centres on the increasingly complex relationship between EU law and arbitration, the prospects for harmonising the arbitration framework across the Union, and the role of Member State courts in supporting arbitral proceedings. It also addresses the growing effect of sanctions on the conduct of arbitrations and on the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards across the EU.
A keynote by Mathias Audit will open the day, examining the desirability and implications of fully harmonising Member States' arbitration laws and the potential for an instrument to ease mutual recognition of domestic judgments in arbitration matters between Member States. A morning roundtable will build on these themes, addressing the relationship between EU law and commercial arbitration more broadly. That discussion arrives at a timely moment: the Court of Justice of the European Union's ruling in London Steam-Ship has reinforced the risk that parallel court proceedings within the EU may undermine the effectiveness of arbitration, while the anticipated revision of the Brussels I Regulation and the European Commission's recent report on its operation have renewed debate over the exclusion of arbitration from the Regulation.
A further morning panel will turn to the application of EU law by arbitral tribunals. Recent case law, including the CJEU's ruling in Royal Football Club Seraing, underscores that arbitral awards must remain subject to effective judicial scrutiny to ensure compliance with EU public policy. That requirement places particular weight on national courts, given that arbitral tribunals generally cannot make preliminary references to the CJEU. The panel will pair doctrinal analysis with practical guidance on navigating these questions in proceedings.
The afternoon divides into four group lectures. The first examines diverging approaches to arbitrability across jurisdictions, with a focus on corporate disputes. The second returns to anti-suit and anti-arbitration injunctions in Europe, a session made especially topical by falling one week after the Dutch Supreme Court hears oral arguments in the widely reported Republic of Poland v. LC Corp case. A third lecture takes a practical view of enforcing arbitral awards across Europe, asking how legal rights can be translated into effective remedies.
The fourth lecture addresses the role of sanctions in arbitration from European and global perspectives, exploring how sanctions regimes affect proceedings and enforcement and the strategic considerations they raise for parties. The panel draws in particular on the Advocate General's recent Opinion in NV Reibel v. JSC VO Stankoimport (Case C-802/24), as well as EU Council Regulations 2025/1494 and 2026/506.
A closing panel, again featuring keynote speaker Mathias Audit alongside George Bermann and Marieke van Hooijdonk, will draw the day's themes together and look ahead to future developments. Surrounding events include a Young Practitioners evening the night before, a breakfast panel on the international character of the Dutch arbitration community co-organised with Young ArbitralWomen Practitioners, and a morning run in Vondelpark organised with the newly launched Dutch chapter of Arbitration Runners.
The full preview is available on the Kluwer Arbitration Blog.