 Good morning. I'm David Tollerton. I'm the good convener of the Committee on Religion Day in the Spider. You might recognize me as the one who kicked you out yesterday night and the one who will kick you out tonight, so you're essentially a person. On behalf of the board of the conclusion committee of the Committee on Religion Day, I'd like to thank you for coming. We're very glad to have you all today and to make the Committee on Religion Day a success. We've just started a Cambridge Artification Society which you could register to be patented in a lot of the effort we're organizing in the coming term, so you can also register to be invited to do that. But of course you can come to me, so I'm just here to introduce Richard Pentiman QC, who will give you one of the best. Thank you. And on behalf of the Faculty of Law, I would also like to welcome you to Cambridge to the faculty and to the 2019 Cambridge Arturation Day. This promises to be a memorable day. I refer of course to the Feast of International Rugby which awaits us this afternoon. The Six Nations hands in the balance. I hope the organizers have warned this afternoon speakers that what they see members of the audience checking their phones is only to catch up on the latest score. I imagine that our proceedings today will be no less memorable, though possibly less violent, with less risk of concussion. Certainly today's event with its theme of the social aspects of international arbitration could hardly be more timely. Arbitration is at all to share. There is a pressing need to understand not just the rules and the practice, which we all know, but the culture if you like the ethnography of arbitration. I think there are several reasons for this. First of all, the very corners, though, of international commercial arbitration is being questioned. This year marks the 50th anniversary that comes into force of the New York Convention. This has prompted much tarnier reflection about the vices and virtues of that game-changing instrument. At the same time, old assumptions about arbitration are being challenged by developments in the litigation market more generally. Almost, as I speak, new commercial courts, streamlined, user-friendly and flexible in their procedures are opening everywhere. They have recently opened in the last 12 months in Paris, Amsterdam and Frankfurt. And in an especially exciting development, an entirely new hybrid model of dispute resolution is evolving in Singapore. If that were not all, it's important to note that one of the principal selling points of arbitration, ease of enforceability, is under threat. As you will know, the forthcoming diplomatic conference of the Hague Conference on Private International Law has, as its principal purpose, the adoption of the much corroded Hague Judgments Convention. What if court judgments become as readily enforceable as arbitral awards? It may be to use an English expression that the Hague conference has shot arbitration's box. And all this, of course, is given added impetus by, I have to mention the word, how could I not, Brexit, with traditional users of the London commercial courts looking for other ways to resolve their disputes as the UK exits, but possibly the regime of the Brussels 1 regulation. Arbitration, of course, may be the beneficiary, but the pros and cons of arbitration and litigation are very prominently on the table. Against this background, there is much debate about the role of arbitration, about how arbitration procedures may be improved, and about the relationship between arbitration and other forms of dispute resolution. But underline this technical conversation, there is a need to understand arbitration as a cultural phenomenon. Arbitration is a human construction. Like all institutions, its shape and scope is not preordained, but depends on the individuals who populate it. I think I can say that the need to debate these issues is evidenced by the popularity of this event. Over 300 delegates and speakers are expected today, making this by that measure the most successful in-bridge arbitration today so far. I'm sure that it will be a success by other measures too. The eminence and expertise of our speakers, of course, suggests as much as does the extraordinary efficiency of the organizers, reflected as always in their excellent choice of caterers. Here, I must even at the outset pay tribute to our sponsors who have made this possible, and to the Graduate Law Society, and to the team who organized today. And if I may single out individuals also, of course, apply them to the Union. This brings me to the pleasant task of introducing our keynote speaker, Andrea Carparis. In a way, of course, our speaker leaves no introduction to this audience which makes my task rather easier. But I will say that he brings to our discussion today an unrivaled knowledge and well-being experience as a leader within the ICC, as a distinguished author, as a practitioner. He combines practice and academia as a partner of an early career and a professor at Siemens Poe, and he has considerable experience as it were on both sides of the table as both counsel and arbitrage. His expertise spans arbitration, litigation, private international law, public international law, and international civil procedure. I look like I've left nothing out. We are invited today to reflect on arbitration as a human social construct. So reflecting the theme of this conference, Andrea has taken as his title, international arbitration from legal practice to social community. With his protein background, there is I'm sure nobody better qualified to discuss this fascinating topic and set the agenda for today's conference. Please welcome Andrea Carparis.