Nishan Premathiratne appointed ICC YAF South Asia Chapter Regional Representative

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) YAF’s Global Committee has appointed Attorney-at-Law Nishan Premathiratne as Regional Representative of the ICC’S Young Arbitrators Forum (YAF) for the South Asia Chapter. 

Nishan Premathiratne

ICC’s YAF aims to develop the largest global network of young arbitrators and Alternate Dispute Resolution Practitioners under the auspices and guidance of the International Court of Arbitration and the International Centre for ADR. 

The Representatives of the YAF of the ICC operate semi-autonomously under the guidance of their Regional Director and the Global Coordinating Committee to ensure that the Regional Chapter achieves its goals. 

As the only ICC YAF’s regional representative to date, appointed from Sri Lanka, he is mandated by the ICC to promote and develop the Regional Chapter’s network of young practitioners, promote ICC’s and ICC YAF’s work by organising Regional Chapter events in order to create opportunities to the new generation, develop skills and create awareness of the ICC’s dispute resolution services.

Premathiratne holds an undergraduate LLB (Hons) Degree from the University of London, a BSc (Hons) Degree in Human Genetics from the University of Nottingham, a Post Graduate Diploma in Intellectual Property Law and is presently reading an LLM in International Corporate Law and Commercial Law from Kings College, London. 

His primary legal practice is focused in Intellectual Property Law, Company Law disputes primarily in the Commercial High Court and in Arbitral Dispute Resolution processes convened locally and overseas. 

Premathiratne is presently a lecturer at the Institute for the Development of Commercial Law and Practice and is also engaged as the Course Coordinator at the University London Registered Centre, CFPS in Intellectual Property Law of the University of London LLB program and also lectures from time to time at Sri Lanka Law College in its Para legal Course and Postgraduate Diploma Course in Company Law. 

Premathiratne has also served as a member of the Council of the Open University of Sri Lanka for the year 2017/2018, a former Executive Committee of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka and is currently a member of the Council of the Kelaniya University of Sri Lanka. Premathiratne also functions as a Contributory to the World Bank Doing Business Index.

The mandate will be presented to Premathiratne at the Seventh ICC YAF Global Conference and General Assembly to be held in June at Kings College, London, which would mark the commencement of his official term until the official handover of the mandate in June 2021. 

The ICC is deemed to be the largest, most representative business organisation in the world having over six million members in over 100 countries having interests spanning every sector of private enterprise. 

ICC is involved in rule setting, dispute resolution, and policy advocacy. Because its member companies and associations are themselves engaged in international business, ICC represents to have unrivalled authority in making rules that govern the conduct of business across borders. Although these rules are voluntary, they are observed in transactions every day and have become part of international trade.