GAR Awards 2026 winners

GAR 30 Ranking revealed 

The GAR 30 ranking was revealed during the 16th annual GAR Awards ceremony, which took place as part of Paris Arbitration Week. The ranking and commentary, alongside a Power Index of the top expert witness firms, appears in the 19th edition of the GAR 100.

Law Firm Ranking

White & Case at #1.

Expert Ranking

Secretariat at #1.

Best Lecture or Speech

Meg Kinnear for her Freshfields lecture on the aftermath and legacy of NAFTA Chapter 11.

Asia Practice that Impressed

Singapore firm Providence Law Asia, which in the past year welcomed a new head of arbitration and obtained a landmark Singapore court decision upholding an intra-EU Energy Charter Treaty award.

Middle East Practice that Impressed

Akin, for work including successfully defending a US$1.7 billion ICC award in the DIFC Courts.

Africa Practice that Impressed

Pinsent Masons for work in the region that includes helping Libya to bring a US$2.7 billion counterclaim in an ICC case.

Latin America Practice that Impressed

Mattos Filho for settling a high-profile dispute over a Brazilian pulp producer and a billion-dollar ICC case over a steelmaking business.

Equal Representation in Arbitration Pledge Award

A report identifying an ethnic diversity gap in arbitration, commissioned by the IBA arbitration committee and conducted by Cortex Capital, a consultancy founded by former HSF and Linklaters lawyer Ula Cartwright-Finch.

Campaign for Greener Arbitration Award for Sustainable Behaviour

SIAC and KCAB International, which both introduced rules addressing the environmental impact of arbitrations. 

Best Innovation

to the winners of the inaugural GAR-LCIA Hackathon, which tasked student and professional teams with developing disruptive AI tools for use in international arbitration.

The student competition was won by a team from St Petersburg University for an arbitration clause drafting tool that maps fragmented consent trails. 

The award for the professional team went to Quantum Lens for a tool that helps arbitrators analyse quantum expert reports.

GAR Guide to Regional Arbitration award for arbitral institution that impressed

São Paulo-headquartered Center for Arbitration and Mediation of the Brazil-Canada Chamber of Commerce (CAM-CCBC) for a sharp rise in international work without any reported slip in standards.

Most Important Decision 

International Court of Justice's advisory opinion that states have binding obligations under treaties and customary international law to prevent climate harm.

Best Prepared / Most Responsive Arbitrator

Mohamed Abdel Wahab, a leading Egyptian arbitrator and founding partner of Zulficar & Partners in Cairo.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Dutch arbitrator and New York Convention expert Albert Jan van den Berg.