About ICMA

The International Congress of Maritime Arbitrators (ICMA) was established in 1972 to provide a forum for maritime arbitrators and lawyers from around the world to exchange views and news of professional interest.

The following conferences have taken place so far

  • ICMA I Moscow, 1972
  • ICMA II Athens, 1974
  • ICMA III Santa Margarita, 1976
  • ICMA IV London, 1979
  • ICMA V New York, 1981
  • ICMA VI Monte Carlo, 1983
  • ICMA VII Casablanca, 1985
  • ICMA VIII Madrid, 1987
  • ICMA VIIII Hamburg, 1989
  • ICMA X Vancouver, 1991
  • ICMA XI Hong Kong, 1994
  • ICMA XII Paris, 1996
  • ICMA XIII Auckland, 1999
  • ICMA XIV New York, 2001
  • ICMA XV London, 2004
  • ICMA XVI Singapore, 2007
  • ICMA XVII Hamburg, 2009
  • ICMA XVIII Vancouver, 2012
  • ICMA XIX Hong Kong, 2015

The origins of ICMA are intriguing. The first conference was conceived in Moscow in 1972. Michael van Gelder, then president of the Society of Maritime Arbitrators, Cedric Barclay and Clifford Clark, two future presidents of the London Maritime Arbitrators Association, and Roger Jambu-Merlin, then president of the Chambre Arbitrale Maritime de Paris were all attendees at an International Congress of Commercial Arbitrators which was being held in Moscow. They decided there and then to stage their own impromptu Congress, the first International Congress of Maritime Arbitrators (ICMA). Professors Sergei Lebedev and George Maslov of Moscow provided the place and a large audience.

For information about the next ICMA, please visit: http://www.icmaweb.com/