Dr Patricia Zivkovic

Biography

Dr Patricia Živković is an academic specialising in international commercial arbitration and the regulation of AI and biometric data who joined the School of Law at the University of Aberdeen in 2019. Before this, she practised as an arbitration lawyer in Croatia. She co-founded the Young Croatian Arbitration Practitioners, an organisation promoting alternative dispute resolution methods among younger members of the arbitration community.

Dr Živković has extensive experience coaching students for the prestigious Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot Court and has served as an associate editor for the Kluwer Arbitration Blog. She also brings in-house legal expertise from the IT industry, having previously held the Head of the Legal Department role, where she acted as lead legal negotiator, handling licence agreements, service contracts, and disputes arising from existing agreements.

Actively involved in the arbitration community, she serves as a member of the Committee of the Northern Chapter of the Scottish Branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) and is part of the Scottish Universities Dispute Resolution Network. Dr Živković is also Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal for Strategic Management and Negotiation and a published author. She is currently working on her monograph, Costs in International Commercial Arbitration, under contract with Edward Elgar Publishing. Her broader research interests include the applicable law in arbitration and the digitalisation of dispute resolution.

Currently, Dr Živković serves as the Programme Coordinator for LLM Programmes in Dispute Resolution, both online and on campus. Her role involves liaising with external stakeholders, including the CIArb, being in charge of the curriculum changes, guiding students in their academic journey, and ensuring they receive the best education pathway in the field.

Prizes and Awards

Students' Union and University of Aberdeen Excellence Award for Best Undergraduate Supervisor (2023)

Research Overview

Patricia's focus in teaching and researching includes:

• international dispute resolution, with an emphasis on international commercial arbitration,
• private international law,
• commercial law,
• the regulation of artificial intelligence, and
• the regulation of biometric data.

Current Research

• Biometrics and Neurotechnology: Ethics, Privacy, and Legal Personhood in the New Digital Age – Redefining the Boundaries of Identity

• Navigating Complexities of Applicable Substantive Laws in International Commercial Arbitration – Conflict of Laws Perspective 

Past Research

• The enforceability of arbitration clauses in antitrust damages cases and the procedural, evidential, and substantive barriers in arbitration for the private enforcement of antitrust damages

Collaborations

Patricia is a member of the following research networks:

• BlockchainResolve - the project resulted in a publication Mind the Gap: Tech-Based Dispute Resolution for Disputes in Global Supply Blockchains; the research group included Denise McCurdy (Georgia State University, Center for Engaged Business Research, USA), Dr Mimi Zou (University of Reading, School of Law, United Kingdom), and Dr Anjanette Raymond (Indiana University, Department of Business Law and Ethics, Kelley School of Business, USA).

Funding and Grants

• Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership funding titled “Time to Become Digital in Law” (DIGInLaw), with Dr Katarina Trimmings as the principal investigator for the team of the University of Aberdeen;
• Royal Society of Edinburgh Research Workshop Grant with a project titled “Laying the Foundations for a Restatement of Scots Private International Law, with Dr Justin Borg-Barthet, as Primary Applicant, and Dr Katarina Trimmings, as Co-Applicant.

Teaching Responsibilities

Postgraduate

• LS5083 International Commercial Arbitration (Course Coordinator)
• LS553N Regulation of Biometric Data and Profiling: Social, Ethical and Legal Implications Honours (Course Coordinator)
• LS551X Negotiations Skills (online) (Course Coordinator) 

Undergraduate

• LS452M Regulation of Biometric Data and Profiling: Social, Ethical and Legal Implications Honours (Course Coordinator)
• LS4011 Law of Sales Honours (Course Co-ordinator)
• LS402T AI and Law
• LS401Q Private International Law of Commercial Law Honours

 Taught before:

• LS1026 Case Studies on Law in Society (Interim Course Co-ordinator) (2019/20)
• LS2026 EU Institutions and Law (2019/20)
• LS503B/LS553B International Sale of Goods (online) (Course Co-ordinator 2019/20, 2020/21)
• QL5502 International Sale of Goods (Course Co-ordinator 2020/21)
• QL5005 International Commercial Arbitration (Course Co-ordinator 2021/22)
• LS5905 Professional Arbitration Skills (Course Co-ordinator 2021/22)
• LS402Q Privacy and Data Protection Law (2021/22, 2022/23)

Non-course Teaching Responsibilities

Guest lecturer at the Summer School of International Arbitration at the International University of Sarajevo