Participation of Carlos Valls as a speaker at the CEA’s Spanish-French Annual meeting

Within the framework of the IX Edition of the CEA Conference that takes place every year in Paris (the “Miradas Cruzadas”), Carlos Valls participated in the panel “Obligaciones deontológicas del abogado en España y en Francia – relevancia e impacto en el arbitraje internacional” (“Deontological obligations of lawyers in Spain and France – relevance and impact on international arbitration”) together with Louis Degos, a lawyer from Paris who has an in-depth knowledge of the deontological rules of French lawyers, and with the rigorous and well-prepared moderator Maria Beatriz Burghetto.

Among the topics discussed were the definition and differences between professional ethics and deontology, the principle of legality and the extraterritorial application of the deontological rule, the advantages and disadvantages of applying the deontology of the place of arbitration, the risk of “no man’s land” pointed out by Professor Catherine Rogers, what sanctions should be applied and the recommendations of the CEA Code of Best Practices. All this from the dual French and Spanish perspective, with interesting differences with respect to extraterritoriality, the incorporation of “soft law” rules into current regulations (France and the principles of the CCBE), or in respect toh express solutions for the most common problems, such as the preparation of witnesses, the obligation to disclose information and documentation within the arbitration procedure, the treatment and exceptions to professional secrecy and privilege, etc.

Finally, there was a reflection on the possibility of unifying criteria at a global level, from the self-regulation advocated by Professor Rogers, to the conclusion of an international Treaty on deontological regulations applicable to adhering states (such as the New York Convention).