LGTON Law partner Atty. Andre C. Palacios chaired the session of the ASEAN Law Conference on arbitration held at the InterContinental Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand on 21 July 2026.
Singapore Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon was the keynote speaker for the opening session of the conference. A champion of arbitration, Chief Justice Menon emphasized the need to make Southeast Asia an arbitration-friendly region.
Four country experts delivered presentations as to how their countries have been implementing the New York Convention on the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards.
Court of Appeals President Datuk Seri Abu Bakar bin Jais presented for Malaysia.
This was then followed by Judge Kamonchanok Katinasmi, the Executive Director of the Thai Arbitration Institute.
Mr. Devathas Satianathan, partner at Rajah & Tann of Singapore, and Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Trang, partner at Dzungsrt & Associates of Vietnam, then presented about their respective countries.
The conference session contributed to the ongoing ASEAN-wide research project of the ASEAN Law Institute on how ASEAN states are implementing the New York Convention. Atty. Palacios, who is a University of the Philippines assistant professor, serves as executive director of the ASEAN Law Institute and Director of the research project. He explained that the Institute plans to conduct a session in 2027 for country experts from Indonesia, Philippines, and other ASEAN states.
Established in 1979, the ASEAN Law Association (ALA) is listed in the annex of the ASEAN Charter as the ASEAN-accredited association of lawyers, judges, and law professors. Each ASEAN state has its ALA National Committee, with the Philippine national committee chaired by Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo.