Dr Howard presents at the Asian Development Bank's Alternative Dispute Resolution Policy Dialogue

On 20 April 2026, Dr Anna Howard spoke at the Alternative Dispute Resolution Policy Dialogue in Tokyo on “Institutionalising Mediation and Strengthening ISDS Management Systems” organised by the Asian Development Bank and the Asian Development Bank Institute. Attended by senior government officials from across Asia, representatives from international organisations, law firms and dispute resolution centres, this policy dialogue addressed the promotion and institutionalisation of mediation, with a focus on investor-state dispute resolution. 

Dr Howard was invited to speak at two sessions of the Policy Dialogue. Dr Howard presented at the session on the promotion of mediation, drawing on her book’s findings to examine why the use of mediation remains limited and to identify measures to promote its use. Dr Howard’s presentation was followed by a panel discussion involving representatives from dispute resolution centres, judges and lawyers. Dr Howard then spoke as a panellist on the session on state-to-state mediation during which she considered the suitability of mediation for state-to-state trade disputes and the institutionalisation of state-to-state mediation. 

More information about the ADR Policy Dialogue organised by the Asian Development Bank and the Asian Development Bank Institute is available here.  

Dr Howard is Co-Associate Director of the UCL Laws’ Centre for Dispute Resolution and Lecturer at UCL Laws where she teaches on the ADR LLM and LLB courses.