I. Introduction

1. The Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization (AALCO) has been concerned with the matters concerning international commercial arbitration since its Tokyo Session held in 1974. At that Session, AALCO endorsed the recommendations of its Trade Law Sub-Committee, that efforts should be made by Member States to develop institutional arbitration in the Asian and African regions. At the Baghdad Session held in 1977, the discussion was focused on an Integrated Scheme for Settlement of Disputes in the Economic and Commercial Matters, prepared by the Secretariat. At the Doha Session in 1978, it was decided to establish two regional Arbitration Centers, one in Kuala Lumpur and another one in Cairo. It was envisaged that the two centers would function as international institutions under the auspices of AALCO with the following objectives:-

(a) Promoting international commercial arbitration in Asian and African regions; (b) Co-ordinating and assisting the activities of existing arbitral institutions, particularly among those within the two regions; (c) Rendering assistance in the conduct of ad hoc arbitrations, particularly those held under the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules; (d) Assisting in the enforcement of arbitral awards; and (e) Providing for arbitration under the auspices of the two centers where appropriate.

2. In pursuance of the above decision, an Agreement was concluded in April 1978 between the AALCO and the Government of Malaysia in respect of establishment of a Regional Center for Arbitration in Kuala Lumpur. A similar Agreement was concluded in January 1979 with the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt in respect of establishment of a Regional Center for Arbitration in Cairo. The Agreements recognized the status of the Centers as intergovernmental organizations and conferred certain immunities and privileges for their independent functioning. The host Governments also offered suitable premises, financial grants and necessary staff to run the Centers. The Centers adopted UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules with suitable modifications and offered their services to any party whether within or outside the region for the administered arbitration and facilities for arbitration whether ad hoc or under the auspices of any other institution.

3. AALCO took upon the promotional functions for the centers in certain specified areas. It entered into Agreements with the World Bank’s Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes which envisaged that arbitration proceedings under the ICSID Convention of 1965 could be held in Kuala Lumpur or Cairo if the parties so agree. In order to encourage arbitration related to shipping matters, AALCO entered into agreement with the Japan Shipping Exchange Inc. which offered facilities for holding arbitration at the Kuala Lumpur Center.

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4. AALCO’s success in promoting institutional arbitration in the Asian and African regions encouraged it to establish two more Regional Arbitration Centers in Lagos and Tehran respectively.

5. An Agreement was concluded with the Federal Government of Nigeria in 1980 for the location of a third Center in Lagos and the same was formally inaugurated in March 1989. On 26th April 1999, Hon’ble Alhaji Abdullahi Ibrahim OFR (SAN), the then Attorney General and Minister of Justice, on behalf of Nigeria and H.E.Mr. Tang Chengyuan, the then Secretary-General of the AALCO, signed an Agreement which formalized the continued functioning of the Center for a period of five years with effect from January 1999 to December 2004.

6. An Agreement was concluded between the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and AALCO on 3 May 1997, for the establishment of a Regional Center for Arbitration in Tehran. The Agreement, among other things, provides that the Center would function under the auspices of the AALCO.

7. Although in the beginning the promotional activities of its Regional Arbitration Centers were primarily carried out by the AALCO, in view of experience accumulated over the years and the contacts established by these centers with Governments, governmental agencies and international institutions, such promotional activities are now mainly carried out by the Centers themselves. Such promotional activities are highlighted in the Reports of the Directors of the respective Centers. However, AALCO Secretariat periodically organizes international conferences and seminars aimed at promoting awareness about the role and functions of the Regional Centers for Arbitration.

8. It is a matter of great satisfaction that, over the years, there has been considerable increase in the number of cases, both international and domestic, referred to AALCO’s Regional Arbitration Centres. The types of cases include oil contracts, insurance, intellectual property, construction contracts etc. and involve both public and private sectors. The resolution of commercial disputes by other Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) methods such as Mediation and Conciliation under the Rules of AALCO Centres is another option being favoured by the Parties.

9. An important function of the Directors of AALCO’s Centres has been to act as an Appointing Authority in many arbitrations. The Centres have been organizing international conferences, seminars and training courses in their respective regions. In addition, the conclusion of co-operation Agreements with other arbitration institutions have been actively pursued by the Directors of the Centres.

10. The Reports of the Directors of the Cairo, Kula Lumpur and Lagos Centres set out in the following part give details of the activities of the respective centers.

2 11. With a view to enhance the role and activities of the AALCO Regional Arbitration Centers, the Secretary-General would like to urge the Member States to fully support the growing activities of these Centres and consider making financial contributions to help in the implementation of their plans and activities. Further, in this context, two concrete suggestions for their consideration are as follows:

(i) The Member States may consider designating a body, for example, the national chamber of commerce or other industrial promotion organizations to be associated with the AALCO Regional Arbitration Centers as the Liaison Agency within the country, with a view to promoting the activities of AALCO Centers.

(ii) Whilst entering into contracts on behalf of the Government, Public Corporations and other Government Undertakings, consideration might be given to including an arbitration clause for settlement of disputes under the arbitration rules of AALCO’s regional arbitration Center, where it is considered expedient for such disputes and differences being settled through AALCO’s Regional Arbitration Centres.

12. Such an encouragement from the Member States would further boost the work of AALCO’s Regional Arbitration Centres.

3 II. PROGRESS REPORT OF THE ACTIVITIES OF THE CAIRO REGIONAL CENTRE FOR INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION (CRCICA) FOR THE PERIOD JULY 2002 – MARCH 2003 AS PRESENTED BY THE DIRECTOR OF THE CENTRE DR. M.I.M. ABOUL-ENEIN

Introductory Note by the Director

We are proud to notice that the Centre has raised its profile all over the world and that there is a remarkable increase in our case referrals. The remarkable growth of the quantificational importance of cases is also quite interesting . Over the few past years, the CRCICA witnessed a number of important cases involving significant trademarks in both the Arab and the international marketplace. It is also being noticed with satisfaction that major infrastructure contracts in the area, especially the Hosting Country, come to involve the CRCICA Arbitration Clause. One of the recent examples in this concern is the International Gas Exportation Agreement Egypt entered into with France in January 2002 to export Egyptian Liquidated Natural Gas ( ELNG ) over 20 whole years by a capacity of 3.6 millions tons of gas annually.

As we have a prideful present, we avow to plan a better future. Out of this perception, the CRCICA plans to intensify institutional responsiveness towards the different sectors of trade, commerce and industry and has accordingly set up an expansion of activities scheme on both the geographical and the substantial levels. In 2001, the Centre established two new branches being the Alexandria Centre for International Commercial Arbitration and the Mediation and ADR Centre and is currently working on similar future projects of expansion including the establishment of a Branch in Ismailia, a vital Egyptian City and the seat of the Suez Canal Authority. Parallel to horizontal expansion in space, the CRCICA plans a vertical development of services by negotiating the establishment of sectoral ADR branches to handle business disputes of special nature. Within the bounds of this, the CRCICA contemplates the possibility of establishing a Branch for the Settlement of Banking Disputes. To this end, it is scheduled to hold an international conference on this type of disputes in 2003 jointly with the World Bank to see through the different aspects and peculiarities involved and introduce other international institutional initiatives. It is also worth noting that the Centre is approached as a key expert-organization to provide assistance in establishing and operating an arbitration center for the settlement of stock exchange disputes. Similarly, the Centre will start considering the establishment of new locations in the about-to-be-launched Free Economic Zones after the promulgation of Law no. 83/2002 issued in June 2002 in this concern.

All over the period under reporting, the Centre has scored various successes in the world of law. The present report provides illustrations in this concern.

Mohamed Aboul-Enein

4 Case Report

The total number of international arbitration cases filed before the CRCICA reaches 327

international cases. It is notable that the average annual increase significantly rises from Increase in some ten cases till more than 50 cases per year and the expected annual average is CRCICA Referrals envisaged to reach 100 cases by 2011 (see the illustrating diagram). Generally speaking, . types of disputes construction arbitration still ranks top among the types of arbitrations administered by the Centre. Other types of cases are related to hotel managements, software contracts, oil contracts, insurance contracts, credit risk management contracts, intellectual property rights, distribution agreements and investment agreements.

No.Cases vs. Year

140

120

100

80

60

No . Cases o f No.Cases

40

20

0 11 54 49 95 125

1984 - 1989 1990 - 1995 1996 - 1998 1999 - 2000 2001- 2002 Year

The geographical scope of the CRCICA cases compasses a significant span.

Beside multinational consortia, countries involved in the 2002-filed cases are Egypt, Nationalities of Parties Lebanon, Oman, Germany, France, Belgium, Romania, Spain, Switzerland and the U.S.A. More CRCICA disputes are having two non- Egyptian parties involved ; illustrating examples are Emirati verus Saudi , Canadian versus Canadian disputes ….. etc. In such cases, CRCICA sessions are sometimes held outside Egypt.

In 2002, the Centre acted as the appointing authority in many arbitrations. Appointments were either of chairmen of tribunals or co-arbitrators and were mostly based on the UNCITRAL List Procedure and according to the UNCITRAL Rules. The increasing trust in the Centre as an appointing authority is actually rooted back to the fact that the Centre has an international panel of arbitrators including more than 570

international arbitrators from all countries of the world. CRCICA as an appointing authority On equal footing, the Centre is being obviously resorted to in the appointment of technical experts in the course of various arbitrations and it was seen therefore necessary to update the Centre’s List of Experts with the intention of widening the scope of expertise covered therein. The initiative well resulted in a radical increase in the total number of the CRCICA experts reaching by the end of 2002 about 200 experts. Responding to the fact that engineering disputes constitute about 45% of the disputes referred to the Centre generally, the CRCICA updating scheme obviously focuses on experts in all engineering-related areas. Where exceptional needs arise to appoint experts

5 in fields hard to meet by the list for rarity, through cooperation agreements, overseas organizations assist the Centre in this concern. Although the Centre’s appointment of technical experts is principally related to requests by tribunals during the arbitration process, the Centre was approached in the pre-arbitration stage – by entities, companies and individuals that had not been yet a party to an arbitral case – to – appoint experts to review some technical points in order to make sure of their positions before getting to arbitration.

There have been recently some rising procedural aspects of the CRCICA arbitrations emerging out of users’ needs and the CRCICA institutional framework proves flexible enough to help them operate as soundly as can best be. It is notable, for instance, that some recent CRCICA arbitrations have witnessed hybrid procedural patterns mixing between the arbitration measures of the civil as well as the common law systems – and in some instances the Shari’a Law – to procedurally respond to legal cultural differences issues.

In promotion of the use of arbitration and other ADR and in response to users’ needs, the Cairo Centre issued an addendum to its rules effective as of 21 November

2002. In its most significant Article, the addendum stipulates the reduction of the

CRCICA CRCICA administrative fees by 20% in international cases and by 30% in domestic New RULES cases. Other articles are added to regulate the proportionality of fees among members of arbitral tribunals and the tearing-down of documents after given time limits.

Testimonials

I was quite impressed with the quality of the Centre and its The Cairo Arbitration Centre has well proved its effectiveness as assistants. Mrs. Nanis A. El Mashed who acted as secretary to a highly reliable institutional framework applying progressive the Tribunal had perfectly well taken care of all arrangements rules and regulations and having on its panels highly qualified so that everybody felt much at ease. Her knowledge of the file, expert arbitrators. What is also seen as a credential asset added her understanding of the issues and the rapidity of her to the various advantages of the Centre is that it has expansively reactions were important elements in the pleasant raised its profile in the international arbitration arena as an developm ent of the hearing. international organization balancing up efficiency with Serge Lazareff independence Chairman of the ICC Institute of World Business Law Dr. Fathy Sorour Speaker of the Egyptian People’s Assemby

CRCICA Events

A Regional limelight…on International rules … In a Changing world

Well cognizant of the various challenging changes in law, trade and investment and the direct influence they are likely to have on the economies of the region, the Centre develops a comprehensive scheme of events meant to intersect the international with the

6 regional and to create a contact point between the various approaches in the said fields inspite of geographical barriers.

One of the outstanding archetypicals in this concern is the series of Conferences the Centre has held since 1998 on the Impact of WTO Agreements on the Economies of the Third World Countries. Viewing the influence the WTO agreements is envisaged to have on international trade practices – and accordingly on dispute-settlement mechanisms – after the experimental application of the Urugauy Results scheduled to end by the year 2005, it has grown necessary to expose the pros and cons involved and attempt creating a comprehensive vision to face all future challenges. The CRCICA series of WTO Conferences comes responsive to this demand bringing to dialogue key WTO representatives and regional governmental officials and businessmen from different developing countries. The underlying motive backing such conferences is to stress the importance of having more public awareness of all rights developing countries are entitled to – but in many instances seem unaware of – within the framework of the WTO. The CRCICA calls upon developing countries to perceive the mutuality of rights and obligations in WTO Agreements. Future related plans include holding the fifth WTO Conference in cooperation with the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign, the Arab League and the WTO Secretariat as well as establishing a CRCICA Unit to exclusively deal with WTO matters and design training programs in this field.

Qatar Saudi Arabia Kuwait Jordan Iraq Bahrain Oman Syria U.A.Emirates Tunisia Oman Palestine Lybia Lebanon Germany England Russia Finland Cote Divoire Poland India Kenya

Nationalities of participants in the CRCICA Series of WTO Conference 1998 – 2001

The period under reporting well reflected the wide-ranging aspects of CRCICA events. On 21 – 22 September 2002 , the CRCICA - jointly with the French Arbitration Committee - organized a Conference entitled “ Cairo …. A Place of International

7 Arbitration”. The French legal culture has long been significantly influential to its Egyptian counterpart and the French trade community in Egypt is instrumental in wheeling on today’s world of business. It was seen therefore necessary to enhance the legal ties of cooperation between France and Egypt generally and to boost forth arbitration in bilateral trade transactions in particular. Dr. Ahmed Fathi Sorour, Speaker of the Egyptian People’s Assembly inaugurated the Conference and about 150 participants were in attendance from Egypt, France, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Syria and Yemen. In implementation of the Conference’s recommendations, the CRCICA and the French Arbitration Committee examine all possible ways to enhance cooperation between Egypt and France in the field of arbitration. This includes plans to exchange experiences related to the revision of both the French and the Egyptian Arbitration Laws, being now in parallel processing, calls to take the French Example in establishing arbitration-related judicial circuits and plans to design specialized training programs for Arab and African judges.

On 14 – 15 December 2002, the CRCICA held its Fourth International Procurement Conference jointly with the Egyptian Ministry of Finance , the World Bank (WB) , the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), the International Law Institute of Washington, the WTO and other regional and local entities. Held since 1994, the CRCICA Procurement Conferences have provided a token of non- governmental endeavors up the way of increasing the efficiency of public procurement. Speaking of the 2002 Conference, it was structured to evaluate the Egyptian Procurement Law with the contribution of WB and WTO experts, key governmental officials from the Ministry of Finance, the Egyptian Cabinet, members of the Egyptian People’s Assembly and Advisory Council , key contractors, lawyers, academicians and other specialists. The conferees issued various improvement recommendations to be examined and further discussed through a highly specialized committee under the auspices of the Cairo Arbitration Centre as of January 2003, outcome of studies are said to be announced at the Fifth International Procurement Conference scheduled for 6-7 December 2003. Within this context, the Centre calls upon individuals and entities to send their comments and practical studies relating to the current Egyptian Procurement Law for committee consideration.

On 26-30 January 2003 , the Centre hosted and organized the first Arbitration Training Program organized by the Middle East Development Law Institute (MEDLI), a newly inaugurated Branch of the International Law Institute ( ILI ) of Washington 1. Co- organized by the Saudi Arbitration Group, the Course was a great success and was attended by trainees from Egypt, Saudi Arabia , Ethiopia , Uganda, Bahrain and Syria. What was considered by all participants as the most interesting and innovating feature of the Course is that it was based on a cross-exposition of different cultural aspects of arbitration, mastered by Mr. Markam Ball , Director of ILI’s Worldwide Program of Arbitration and ADR, and Dr. Mohamed Aboul-Enein , the CRCICA Director.

1 See Brief News , para 1

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On 7 February 2003, the Cairo Centre collaborated with the European Court of Arbitration and the Mediterranean Arbitration Council in holding a Mediterranean Conference on International Finance and Arbitration in Milan. The agenda of the Conference tackled, inter alia, disputes of financial transactions and their settlement , syndicated loans and arbitration, international finance disputes with governments and ICSID Arbitration, stock exchange and arbitration as well as international finance and mediation. It is worth noting that in March 2001 the three mentioned Organizations developed the tradition of holding international conferences in Mediterranean Countries by rotation to promote and improve the use of Arbitration. Putting the idea into practice, the first conference in the series was held on March 24-25, 2001 in Cairo under the title Arbitration 2001 :

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Emerging Arbitral Issues in the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Region.

2003 Events* To be organized or largely contributed to by CRCICA Date Event Other/Main Organizers 26-27 May ALI/UNIDROIT Principles and Rules of American Law Institute ( ALI) Transnational Civil Procedure International Institute for the Unification of Cairo – Egypt Private Law ( UNIDROIT)

June Third International E-Commerce United Nations Commission on International Conference Trade Law ( UNCITRAL) Cairo – Egypt June Third Arab Judicial Colloquium UNCITRAL Cairo – Egypt 26-27 June IFCAI Conference on Interim Measures International Federation of Commercial Vienna – Austria Arbitration Institutions ( IFCAI) 27 – 28 Third International Conference on World Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs September Trade Organization Agreements Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Trade Cairo – Egypt World Trade Organization ( WTO )

October Seventh International Conference on International Law Institute of Washington Build-Own-Transfer ( BOT ) Projects Sharm El Sheik – Egypt October Arbitration Training programs leading to The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb ) the Membership of the Chartered Institute London – England of Arbitrators ( CIArb ) Cairo – Egypt 6-7 Fifth International Procurement World Bank December Conference WTO Cairo – Egypt UNCITRAL ILI Customized Ministry of Defense Undated Construction Law Training Program ( Abu Dhabi – United Arab Emirates ) ( Abu Dhabi – United Arab Emirates ) Undated Banking Disputes International World Bank Conference Various Local and Regional Banks Cairo – Egypt

* Some dates are still tentative

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CRCICA …. Chair-Institution Of the Fourth IFCAI Institutional Section Meeting on 22 November , 2002 Paris – France

By virtue of the Geneva Resolution of the International Federation of Commercial Arbitration Institutions ( IFCAI ) issued on 23 October 1997 and since 1998 , the Institutional Section of the Federation chaired by Dr. Mohamed Aboul-Enein has held four meetings in Paris, New York and London for members to share experiences and discuss matters of common concern relating to the day to day administration of international arbitration and other dispute resolution proceedings. Hosted by the ICC , the fourth meeting was held in Paris on the 22nd of November 2002 and was attended by top representatives of twenty-eight international arbitral institutions including the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes ( ICSID ), the American Arbitration Association ( AAA ) , the London Court of International Arbitration ( LCIA) and the World Intellectual Property Organization ( WIPO).

The agenda of the Meeting focused on four topics : the advantages of institutional arbitration as compared to ad hoc arbitration, online arbitration, the independence and impartiality of arbitrators and problems related to arbitrators’ fees.

On discussing the advantages of institutional arbitration, it was expressed that they are yet to be more frequently preached as users of ad hoc arbitration seem to be not totally aware of the wide ranging role of institutions in administering arbitrations. Members emphasized that dispute resolution procedures are demand-driven and that arbitral institutions should focus on ways to promote institutional arbitration generally, whilst enhancing their respective services, in particular, and should ensure that their services are sufficiently flexible and relevant to meet users’ needs.

The Meeting also addressed the challenges technology does impose on the practice of Alternative Disputes Resolution ( ADR ) Techniques stressing the importance of institutionally responding to the needs of users in a revolutionary age of technology. Institutions shared their online Dispute Resolution experiences. Intensive reports were given on the online practices of the AAA and the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Centre. The basic common feature binding all reported experiences together is that users tend not to convert everything to a completely on-line system. In response, institutions focus more on the use of information technology in support of arbitration and other dispute resolution techniques than on Online Dispute Resolution as a system.

The agenda also tackled the independence and impartiality of arbitrators seen to be essential for international arbitration to have credibility in international business community. Members discussed current complex independence questions especially taking into consideration that there is no commonly identified standard of what constitutes independence. Within this context , it was agreed upon that arbitral

11 institutions do have quite significant roles in handling key independence and impartiality issues as presented mainly in two stages ; the appointment stage and the stage of dealing with the challenge of arbitrators.

Members intensively discussed an initiative launched by the International Bar Association (IBA) to draft “Guidelines Regarding the Standard of Disclosure in International Commercial arbitration”. Such Guidelines – in their draft form – classify disclosure into three categories a black list, white list and a gray list. Members were called upon to give their opinions because straightening out such a matter requires in the first place the neutral judgment of arbitral institutions. Although it was seen that it may prove in some cases a bit impractical to try to draw clear lines in certain matters where a question of degree is involved , it was expressed that having a sort of universal standard would provide clear-cut criteria in certain situations and save the time and efforts likely to be wasted in investigating undue challenges that sometimes are nothing but tactics to delay arbitral processes. The various differing aspects involved in this matter brought about a collective call that the IBA Guidelines should comprehensively handle the cases where cultural differences are involved and avoid general statements in this concern.

On handling issues related to arbitrators’ fees , many relevant problems were discussed regarding the difficulties encountered in fixing fees taking into consideration the sometimes opposing factors being ; the value of disputes, the culture of arbitrators and the financial capacity of parties involved. Discussions revealed the fact that legal cultural differences highly affect radical arbitrators’ fees issues. Some members suggested that it would be useful to have all-inclusive standards or a check list regulating all important questions of costs including travel expenses …etc and handling issues peculiar to different jurisdiction and legal cultures.

On considering the future works of the IFCAI, members lent special attention to interim measures and the UNCITRAL relevant works. It was considered necessary for the IFCAI to hold meetings and discussions in this concern and to call for creating relevant contacts between arbitration institutions in each country and their respective governments in order to spring national stances out of factual practices. Within such context, it was scheduled to hold an IFCAI Conference on Interim Measure on 26 - 27 June 2003 in Vienna/Austria with the cooperation of the UNCITRAL.

It was seen necessary to develop post-meeting inter-cooperation between member-institutions and keep on exchanging their experiences on the five focal topics discussed during the Paris Meeting as well as on newly emerging institutional questions. Special consideration should be also given to issues related to legal cultural differences and their effects on arbitral procedures.

12 Brief News

A CRCICA WTO Unit ….. under establishment : The Cairo Centre will soon establish a WTO Unit to exclusively deal with all WTO-related issues and to design training programs for officials, businessmen and lawyers of developing countries to best cope with the new trade order. Key regional and international organizations and monetary funds will be involved in the project.

Breaking through one more vital field of business : CRCICA boosts forth arbitration in stock exchange disputes : The Centre negotiates an agreement with the Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchanges to provide technical and administrative know- how in establishing and operating an arbitration center for the settlement of stock exchange disputes. Among other activities, the Centre will tailor a number of arbitration training programs in this field.

CRCICA hosts the Middle East Development Law Institute ( MEDLI) : Since 1971, the International Law Institute (ILI) of Washington has provided training for over 9,000 public officials and other professionals from 185 countries and in 1997, it decided to establish a global network of regional campuses in key countries in the developing world. In 2002, the ILI established its Middle East Branch in Cairo. CRCICA was chosen to be the hosting organization and its Director, the Chairman of the MEDLI’s Advisory Board.

First and Soon to appear in the Arab Book Market : A CRCICA-produced Arabic Version of an UNCTAD/WTO Publication : The Cairo Centre entered into an agreement with the International Trade Centre UNCTAD/WTO granting the former exclusive right to reproduce the first Arabic version of the latter’s Publication entitled: “Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution – how to settle international business disputes.” Distribution scheme extends to include Egypt and Arab-speaking countries of North Africa and the Middle East. The publication is expected to appear on the market in June 2003.

Kluwer Law International will soon publish the Second English Volume of the CRCICA Awards, expected to include the most recent awards issued under the auspices of the Centre.

The First Arabic Book compiling the CRCICA Awards ( 2000 – 1984 ) is now available on the market. It is worth noting that Kluwer Law International will soon publish the Second English Volume of the CRCICA Awards expected to include the most recent awards issued under the auspices of the Centre.

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III. REPORT ON THE ACTIVITIES OF THE REGIONAL CENTRE FOR ARBITRATION KUALA LUMPUR FOR THE YEAR 2002

Director's Visit to Cambodia and Vietnam

Dato' Dr. Zakaria M. Yatim, the Director of the Regional Centre for Arbitration Kuala Lumpur (RCAKL) visited Cambodia and Vietnam from 1 ih March 2002 to 19th March 2002. He was accompanied by the Research Officer of RCAKL, Ms. Intan Hamid. The main objective of the visit was to promote international commercial arbitration in the Asian Region and the use of the Arbitration Rules prepared by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, 1976 (UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules, 1976). The second objective was to explore the possibility of establishing a good working relationship by entering into co operation agreements with the two governments or their agencies, or with the arbitral institutions or Chambers of Commerce in the two countries.

Visit to Phnom Penh

On 1ih March 2002, Dr. Zakaria and Ms. Intan met the officials of the Cambodian Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Justice and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The officials were H.E. Sok Siphana, J.D., the Secretary of State, Ministry of Commerce; H.E. Y Dan, the Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice; Mr. Ho Sarann, Director of the Legal Affairs Department, Ministry of Commerce; Mr. You Ottara, Director of International Affairs Department, Ministry of Justice; Mr. Yim Cham Nap Pheakdey, Deputy Chief of Commercial Law Office, Ministry of Commerce; and Mr. Onkha Thieng Kith, Member of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The Meeting was convened by H.E. Sok Siphana. H.E. welcomed the visit of the RCAKL's Delegation to Cambodia. H.E. briefed the Delegation about the present legal situation in his country. For the past seven to eight years, Cambodia has been in the process of formulating its legal system and rules of law. Presently, the process of capacity building is the main priority of the Government and in this connection, the Government was also in the process of formulating its arbitration law. H.E. was confident that the Delegation's visit would give exposure to the arbitration system of Cambodia. H.E. said, that once the Cambodian Law relating to arbitration had been promulgated, Cambodia would need RCAKL to help in its institutional set-up. The meeting was informed that the RCAKL was the first arbitral institution to visit Cambodia.

Dr. Zakaria thanked H.E. Sok Siphana, H.E.'s Delegation and the Government of Cambodia for the warm welcome extended to him and his colleague. He was touched by the warm hospitality of the Government and the people of Cambodia. Dr. Zakaria said that the purpose of their visit to Cambodia was to have discussions with H.E. and officials of the Government, as well as members of the commercial sector, on matters pertaining to the settlement of commercial disputes by arbitration: These matters were i) to promote arbitration as a means of settling commercial disputes and ii) to explore the possibility of entering into co-operation agreements in the areas of the training of

14 arbitrators and other personnel as well as the establishment of appointing authorities.

The Meeting came to a consensus that the RCAKL, in collaboration with the Ministry of Commerce, Cambodia, would make the necessary arrangements i) for technical assistance regarding the training of Cambodian officials in the area of dispute settlement and other related matters; ii) to assist in the drafting of the arbitration law for the Ministry of Commerce, Cambodia; and iii) to assist in setting up a national arbitral institution/centre for the Ministry of Commerce, Cambodia.

The Meeting exchanged views and ideas, and after much deliberation, the Meeting agreed that both RCAKL and the Cambodian Ministry of Commerce would execute a Memorandum of Understanding, which would make provisions for training courses, seminars and other related matters. At this stage, the Minutes of the Meeting which would later be signed by both parties would serve as a starting point in establishing a relationship between them.

On 13th March 2002, the Minutes of the Meeting of 1 ih March 2002 were signed by Mr. Ho Sarann, Director of the Legal Affairs Department, Ministry of Commerce and Dr. Zakaria M. Yatim.

Visit to Hanoi

On 18th March 2002, the Delegation had a meeting with senior officials of the Ministry of Justice. The senior officials were Mr. Duong Dang Hue, Deputy Director, Department of Civil and Economic Legislation and Mr. Dang Minh Dao, Legal Expert, Department of International Law and Co-operation, Ministry of Justice, Vietnam.

The Meeting with the Ministry of Justice was for the purpose of establishing a good relationship between the RCAKL and the Ministry.

Mr. Duong Dang Hue informed the Delegation that the Government of Vietnam had completed drafting its arbitration law. The draft was being reviewed by the Standing Committee and would come into force by the end of the year. A copy of the draft law would be sent to RCAKL in due course.

The Meeting exchanged ideas and views on arbitration laws, the establishment of arbitral institutions and the training of arbitrators.

The Delegation was also informed that an official from Vietnam had visited RCAKL in 1991 and the Director's visit was seen as the renewal of the relationship.

On 19th March 2002, the Delegation met two members of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) who were also committee members of the Vietnam International Arbitration Centre (VIAC). The Director of the Legal Department of VCCI, Mr. Tran Hun Hunyh, was also the Vice President of VIAC. He was also a member of the Standing Committee for the review of the draft law on arbitration. Also present at the

15 meeting was Ms. Phan Minh Thuy, the Legal Officer from the Legal Department of VCCI.

Dr. Zakaria informed the Meeting that the purpose of the visit to Vietnam was to establish a relationship with VCCI and VIAC and to explore the possibilities of entering into co-operation agreements. He enquired whether arbitrators in Vietnam would be interested to be accredited to the RCAKL's Panel of Arbitrators. Dr. Zakaria also informed them that a training course would be conducted by RCAKL in the third quarter of the year. Mr. Huynh informed the Delegation that he had visited RCAKL in 1995 and had in fact introduced RCAKL to the business communities in Vietnam. He added that RCAKL's Rules had been translated into Vietnamese language and included in the VCCI website. Dr. Zakaria expressed gratitude to VCCI for supporting the RCAKL. He also informed the Meeting that the Rules of RCAKL were revised in August 2001 and provided them with copies of the revised Rules.

The Meeting exchanged views on arbitration laws and took note of the importance of having qualified arbitrators.

The Meeting ended with the consensus that RCAKL would prepare a draft co operation agreement, taking into account the issues deliberated earlier.

On the same day, the Delegation met the members of the Vietnam Lawyers Association (VLA) comprising Prof. Luu Van Oat, the Vice President and Secretary General; Mr. Thai Trong Hoang, the Vice Director and Ms. Bui Thi Phuong Anh, a member of the Association in charge of International Co -operation.

Dr. Zakaria introduced the Delegation and informed the members of VLA the purpose of the visit to Vietnam. Dr. Zakaria said that developing countries had been relying on arbitrators from the western countries to settle their commercial disputes. It was timely that qualified arbitrators from the Asian region be given the opportunity to promote themselves as they were equally qualified and experienced. The Delegation was looking for the possibilities of accrediting qualified arbitrators from Vietnam to the Panel of Arbitrators of RCAKL.

Prof. Luu Van Oat expressed his appreciation of the visit. He said VLA shared similar views as expressed by Dr. Zakaria. He said that the region also had qualified and experienced arbitrators and that they should be given the opportunity to settle disputes arising out of international commercial transactions. In this connection, it was necessary for arbitrators to have regular training so as to stay abreast with the latest developments in arbitration. Professor Luu Van Oat expressed VLA's support for the works carried out by the RCAKL.

The Meeting further discussed the' training of arbitrators and Dr. Zakaria informed them of the forthcoming Advance Course on International Commercial Arbitration to be held in the later part of the year. The Preliminary Course was conducted in October 2001 and the participants who attended the first course were eligible to attend

16 the Advance Course. RCAKL would be pleased to extend its invitation to the members of the Association to attend the forthcoming Advance Course.

The Delegation was informed that, in Vietnam, training courses on arbitration were conducted by the Ministry of Justice. They were of the view that the Bar Council should undertake the training programme. The Association was willing to accept the invitation from RCAKL. Professor Luu Van Oat informed the Delegation that language, however, might be a problem as many of the qualified arbitrators were not English speaking. The older and middle generations were fluent in French and Russian, and only the new generation could communicate in English. Prof. Luu Van Oat gave the assurance that the Association would certainly accept the invitation from RCAKL.

Dr. Zakaria also extended an invitation to Prof. Van Oat to be a guest speaker in one of the talks to be held by RCAKL. According to Dr. Zakaria, Prof. Oat's wide experience and knowledge on the legal system of Vietnam over the last four decades would be an asset to the younger generation. He could provide first-hand information on how the transition of the legal system in Vietnam took place. Prof. Oat said that he would consider the invitation.

The Meeting concluded with assurances from both sides that they would continue to be in constant contact and were positive that the relationship would continue to grow in years to come. The visit to Vietnam was timely as the government was reviewing the draft proposal on arbitration law, and the views expressed by Dr. Zakaria during the discussions in Vietnam were very helpful.

Co-operation Aareements

1. Agreed Minutes

The agreed minutes signed by Dr. Zakaria M. Yatim and Mr. Ho Sarann, Director of the Legal Affairs Department, Ministry of Commerce in Phnom Penh on 13th March 2002, stated that a Memorandum of Understanding would be concluded at a later stage. The following provisions in the Minutes would be incorporated into the Memorandum of Understanding.

"The Centre, in collaboration with the Ministry of Commerce, Cambodia would make the necessary arrangements:

i) For technical assistance regarding training of officials of Cambodia in the area of dispute settlement and other related matters;

ii) To assist in the drafting of the arbitration law for the Ministry of Commerce, Cambodia; and

iii) To assist in setting up a national arbitral institution/center for the Ministry of Commerce, Cambodia."

17

Co-operation Agreement with Vietnam International Arbitration Centre

At the Hanoi meeting, the Vice President of the Vietnam International Arbitration Centre (VIAC) agreed that a co-operation agreement would be concluded between the RCAKL and VIAC. The draft text of the co operation agreement has been agreed to between both institutions. In December this year, the Director of the RCAKL signed two copies of the agreement and sent them to Hanoi for the signature of the President of VIAC.

Advance Course on International Commercial Arbitration

For the first time, RCAKL organised an advance course on International Commercial Arbitration in Kuala Lumpur in October 2002. The Course was attended by 43 participants from Royal Bhutan, Kingdom of Cambodia, People's Republic of China, Lao PDR, Mongolia, His Majesty's Government of Nepal, People's Democratic Republic of Korea, Republic of Korea, Socialist Republic of Vietnam and Malaysia.

In his opening remarks, the Director welcomed all participants to the Course. He said that the Course was a follow-up to the two-day course on international commercial arbitration held in Kuala Lumpur in October 2001.

He informed the participants, that the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organisation, at its 40th Session held in New Delhi in the year 2000 had advocated the need for training courses for those involved in arbitration and encouraged member countries to develop concerted training efforts to meet the demand in its field. He expressed the view that the increase in the number of international trade disputes saw the increasing need and demand for trained and qualified arbitrators as well as those involved in drafting laws and arbitration clauses in international agreements. RCAKL believes that it could assist and share its experiences with countries undergoing reforms in their legal system, particularly in the area of international arbitration.

The lecture sessions began soon after the Director's opening remarks. During the course, 10 lectures were given. The following are the topics of the lectures and the names of the speakers:

(1 ) Regional Centre for Arbitration Kuala Lumpur: Historical Background; Status; and Functions.

Speaker: Data' Dr. Zakaria M. Yatim (Malaysia)

(2) Conduct of Arbitration Proceedings under the Rules of the RCAKL from the Beginning until Publication of Awards.

18 Speaker: Mr. Vinayak Pradhan (Malaysia)

(3) Interim Measures of Protection.

Speaker: Dato' Mahadev Shankar (Malaysia)

(4) Choice of Venue. Appropriate Governing Principles.

Speaker: Mr. John Tackaberry QC (United Kingdom)

(5) Comparative Assessment of some of the More Important Arbitral Procedures which are commonly in use:

UNCITRAL Rules ICSID LCIA ICC Stockholm Chamber Rules

Speaker: Professor Douglas Jones (Australia)

(6) Enforcement of Arbitral Awards - The New York Convention.

Speaker: Assoc. Professor Lawrence Boo (Singapore)

(7) Challenge to Awards under Municipal Systems Procedure and Grounds for Challenge.

Speaker: Mr. Sundra Rajoo (Malaysia)

(8) Commodity Arbitration.

Speaker: Mr. Graham Maurice Perry (United Kingdom)

(9) Maritime Arbitration.

Speaker: Mr. Liew Teck Huat (Malaysia)

(10) Dispute Settlement Regime under WTO.

Speaker: Dr. Torsten Lorcher (Germany)

19 At the end of the closing ceremony, Dr. Zakaria presented certificates of attendance to all participants. In the evening, RCAKL hosted a dinner for the participants, distinguished speakers and the chairmen of the sessions. At the dinner, a participant from Mongolia, Ms. Maralgoo Dashdoorov spoke on behalf of all participants. She said that there was an urgent need to learn the ways of resolving disputes especially in relation to trade involving foreign elements as international business transactions were developing day by day. She went on to state:

"And the Regional Center for Arbitration Kuala Lumpur has given us the opportunity to meet distinguished professionals and leaders in the field of arbitration and lawyers from overseas and to exchange our views and opinions. The course has successfully been held and we all immensely enjoyed the course and lectures. Topics were so interesting and important that we could not see sleeping man or hear "sneezing" noise during the course. This is thanks to the usefulness of the topics and the capable lecturers.

We wish to express our sincere gratitude to the Regional Center for Arbitration Kuala Lumpur and Mr. Zakaria and the staff of RCAKL for organising such a beneficial course, for bringing us together and letting us to advance our knowledge and exchange the views and opinions.

We are fully confident that we can contribute to the progress of international arbitration in the region of Asia as well as throughout the world and succeed in harmonizing the experience and knowledge we have acquired here."

Course on Arbitration for Legal and Judicial Officers in Malaysia

The Malaysian Judicial and Legal Training Institute (a Government institution), held a two day course on arbitration in Kuala Lumpur on 26th and 2ih August 2002. All the 17 participants were Government officers from the Attorney General's Office, Kuala Lumpur, judges and magistrates of the Subordinate Courts in Malaysia. The object of the course was to train the officers on the arbitral process and the procedural rules of arbitration proceedings.

Five lectures were given, and the last lecture was given by the Director at RCAKL. The topic of the last lecture was "The Regional Centre for Arbitration, Kuala Lumpur". In his lecture, the Director spoke on the historical background of RCAKL, its status and functions and the procedural rules of arbitration administered under the auspices of RCAKL.

20

Meeting of the Informal Advisory Group of the Regional Centre for Arbitration Kuala Lumpur

The Director reconvened the Meeting of the Advisory Group on 12th December 2002. The Meeting was held at the Centre and the following were the members present:

1. Mr. Istiaque Ahmed, First Secretary of the High Commission for the People's Republic of Bangladesh.

2. Mr. Uch Kim Yon, Commercial Counsellor of the Royal Embassy of the Kingdom of Cambodia.

3. Mr. George Twk Matai, Admin/Budget Officer of the Embassy of the Republic of Fiji.

4. Mrs. B.R Chander, Attache (Commerce) of the High Commission of India.

5. Mr. Chilman Arisman, Counsellor of the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia.

6. Mr. Mochammad Rizki Safary, Second Secretary of the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia.

7. Mr. Jang Seok Gu, Commercial Counsellor of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea.

8. Ms. See Mee Chun, Senior Federal Counsel, Attorney-General's Office, Malaysia.

9. Ms. Zalita Zaidan, Legal Advisor, Ministry of International Trade & Industry, Malaysia.

10. Mr. Musaddiq Ahmed Khan, Commercial Counsellor of the High Commission for Pakistan.

11. Mr. Glenn Penaranda, Commercial Attache of the Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines.

12. Ms. Jolene Tan, First Secretary of the High Commission of the Republic of Singapore.

13. Mr. S Ekanayake, Minister of the High Commission of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.

14. Mr. A. Chalermnon, Second Secretary of the Royal Thai Embassy.

21

Director's Introductory Remarks

The Director welcomed all members present. He explained that the first meeting of the Advisory Group was held at the RCAKL on 5th March 1981. The meeting was held on the instruction of Mr. B. Sen, the then Secretary-General of the AALCC. At that meeting, it was unanimously decided that countries from Australasia should be invited as members of the Advisory Group. The second meeting was held on 29th July 1981. Mr. B. Sen attended this meeting. By a letter dated 7th August 1981, Mr. B. Sen gave instructions to the Director to continue with the meetings of the Advisory Group from time to time. At the Fifth Meeting of the Group held on 2yth May 1981, the representative from New Zealand was present. The Advisory Group meetings were held regularly until sometime after 1990. There were no records of any meeting since then.

Programme for the Commemoration of the Silver Jubilee of RCAKL Next Year

He said it was timely to reconvene the meeting especially when RCAKL was making preparations for the commemoration of its Silver Jubilee in the year 2003. The main item on the agenda was to discuss the programme for the commemoration of the Silver Jubilee. The programme is as follows:

(a) To hold a Conference of Representatives of the Governments from the Asia and Pacific Region. The theme of the Conference is "Settlement of International Commercial Dispute".

(b) To invite Representatives from countries in Asia and the Pacific to speak in commemoration of the Silver Jubilee.

(c) The records of the proceedings in items (a) and (b) will be published by the Centre.

(d) To approach eminent writers on commercial arbitration and other forms of settlement of commercial disputes to contribute essays to be published by the Centre.

There was a consensus that a Conference of Representatives of the Governments from Asia and the Pacific be held sometime in the second or third week of July 2003. The meeting also agreed in principle on items (b), (c) and (d). A member asked the Director who would be financing the Silver Jubilee programme. The Director replied that he would be approaching the Malaysian Government for funds pursuant to the provisions of the agreement concluded between the AALCC and the Government of Malaysia.

The Director informed the meeting that he would be approaching the Prime Minister of Malaysia to inaugurate the Silver Jubilee programme. He would also be inviting the Secretary-General of AALCO to speak at the inauguration ceremony.

22 The Advisory Group decided unanimously to have another meeting in early March 2003 so as to enable them to inform the Group the views of their Governments.

Domain Name Dispute Resolution

The Malaysian Institute for Microelectronic System or famously known as MIMOS Berhad through one of its divisions, Malaysian Network Information Center (MYNIC) and the RCAKL, have since 2001 been developing Dispute Resolution Policy and Rules for the purpose of resolving disputes in domain names. Under the draft Agreement to be signed between MIMOS and RCAKL, RCAKL will be appointed as the service provider in resolving disputes arising from domain names in accordance with the Policy and Rules. The MYNIC's (.my) Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy and Rules and RCAKL's Supplemental Rules were put forth to the public for their comments in October 2002. The Policy, Rules and the Supplemental Rules are now in review process. The domain name dispute resolution services will be launched in late 17 January 2003. RCAKL and MIMOS will be signing the Agreement for the Provision of Domain Name Dispute Resolution Services.

RCAKL has put in a lot of effort to ensure that the services are available and ready for launching. RCAKL has prepared a special system whereby the services will be provided on-line. A new member of staff has been recruited to administer the cases together with two other existing staff. The on-line system will allow parties to file a complaint without being physically present at the same place. It also ensures that information will be received on time, thus greatly reducing time and cost in reaching a settlement. Although the market is competitive, RCAKL envisages in becoming the leading dispute resolution service provider in the Asian region.

Training in Domain Names Dispute Resolution Services

Ms. Intan Hamid, the Legal Counsel, went for informal training on domain name dispute resolution in early December. The training took place at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WI PO), Arbitration and Mediation Centre in Geneva, Switzerland. The training was very beneficial as RCAKL has had no hands-on experience in the management of domain name disputes, and the exposure and experience of WIPO would certainly assist RCAKL in the management of domain name disputes which will be launched in January 2003.

Ms. Intan Hamid was given a briefing on the experience of WIPO in the management of domain name dispute resolution services, and some reading materials to study by Ms. Patricia Simao-Sartorius, the Legal Consultant. The Programme for Ms. Intan at WIPO was prepared by Ms. Sartorius. Ms. Intan was also introduced to the case administration section, where she had discussions with the case administrators. The Programme also provided Ms. Intan Hamid with an overview of the management of domain name cases, and a review of certain important decisions made by WIPO Panelists. Ms. Eun-Joo Min, the Senior Legal Officer at WIPO attended to Ms. Intan on this matter. Ms. Intan then had meetings with Mr. Johannes Christian Wichard, the Head

23 of Legal Development Section and Mr. Ignacio de Castro, the Senior Legal Officer on various legal issues as well as technical issues pertaining to domain name disputes.

Arbitration Cases referred to RCAKL in the year 2002

There were two international arbitration cases registered under the Rules of RCAKL in the year 2002. Two ad hoc international arbitration cases used the hearing rooms and other facilities including facilities for secretarial services.

The number of domestic arbitration cases registered under the Rules of RCAKL was eight. For the first time, a domestic mediation case was registered at the Centre in the year 2002. The mediation however failed and the parties proceeded with arbitration under the Rules of RCAKL. There were fourteen domestic ad hoc cases using the hearing rooms and other facilities including facilities for secretarial services.

There were three international arbitration cases and eight domestic arbitration cases where the Director acted as the appointing authority. As the appointing authority, the Director also decided when an arbitrator was challenged by one of the parties under Article 10 of the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules. The ground of the challenge was that the arbitrator was not acting impartially. The Director decided that there was no merit in the challenge. [Please see the statistics of international and domestic arbitration cases from 1986 to the year 2002 attached to this Report].

Introduction of the Digital Audio Recording System

With the ever-increasing volume of world trade and the rapid development of modern technology, information technology plays an essential role, especially in the creation of a paperless working environment where information can be easily accessed.

One of the Centre's main functions is to provide facilities for arbitration, which includes facilities for secretarial assistance. In keeping with the trend, the Centre has now taken steps towards enhancing its secretarial facilities by switching from the conventional method of audio recording (analog cassette recorder) to the digital audio recording system. This provides faster and more accurate access to arbitration records/proceedings, thus reducing time consuming tasks.

The digital audio recording system is a user-friendly system similar to analog recording, but which eliminates the hassle of rewinding and forwarding cassettes. The main functions of the digital audio recording system include providing high quality recordings, better archiving, easy playback, immediate access and rapid duplication and distribution.

This digital audio recording system has now been installed, on a trial basis, in one of the hearing rooms at the Centre. With its value-added features, we trust that this new system will contribute to the smooth running of arbitration proceedings. Hearing proceedings can now be captured and stored in CD form and access to any point at

24 anyone time of an arbitration hearing is now at the touch of a button.

Visitors to the Centre

1. 28th January 2002 Ms. Karen Gough, President of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, U.K and Mr. Dair Farrar-Hockley of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, U.K. They were accompanied by the Chairman of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Malaysian Branch, Mr. Sundra Rajoo and Mr. Ho Kin Wing an official of the Malaysian Branch of the Institute.

2. 25th February 2002 H.E. Dr. Marco Tulio Cordero, Ambassador of Ecuador in Kuala Lumpur.

3. 19th April 2002 Mr. Goh Phai Cheng, Senior Counsel, Republic of Singapore and Director of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC).

4. 28th May 2002 Mr. Guy Kurkdjian, Mr. Guy Robin and Mr. Pierre Bavre from Paris met the Director to enquire about the role and functions of the RCAKL.

5. 7th June 2002 Professor Peter Malanczuk, Director of WTO Law and Dispute Resolution Centre (WTODR), School of Law, City University, Hong Kong.

6. 20th June 2002 Dr. Jur. Thomas R. Klotzel from Stuttgart, Germany. Dr. Klotzel is a close friend of RCAKL. His previous visit to RCAKL was February 2000. His article, "Arbitration in Germany - Recent Developments" appeared in the May 2000 issue of RCAKL's Newsletter.

7. 8th July 2002 Haji Ismail Mahayudin from Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad, Kuala Lumpur.

8. 12th July 2002 Mr. Tjaco 1. van den Hout, Secretary-General of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, The Hague. He had a brief discussion with the Director. He suggested to the Director that the Permanent Court of Arbitration and RCAKL should consider entering into a co-operation agreement. The Director welcomed the suggestion.

9. 26th July 2002 Ms. Noor Suhaida Kasri, Advocate and Solicitor, Kuala Lumpur.

10. 7th August 2002

25 Representatives from the Central Bank of Malaysia (Bank Negara Malaysia) and from Islamic banking and financial institutions in Malaysia visited the Centre for a briefing by the Director on how commercial arbitrations are administered by the RCAKL. Those present were:

Ms. Rohana Yusuf, Bank Negara Malaysia.

Dr. Hj. Zainuddin Jaffar, Bank Negara Malaysia.

Mr. Mohamad Salihin Hj. Deris, Bank Negara Malaysia.

Mr. Mohd Hafiz Fauzi, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Berhad.

Mr. Elioskarma Abd. Aziz, Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad.

Mr. Ahmad Hj. Md. Tahir, Persatuan Institusi Perbankan Islam Malaysia.

Mr. Mansor Abu Bakar, Malayan Banking Berhad.

Mr. Ahmad Zaini Othman, AmBank Berhad.

Mr. Mahmud Buntat, OCBC Bank.

Mr. Suparno Ahmad, Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Berhad.

Y.M. Tengku Hasmuddin Tengku Othman, Messrs. Hisham, Sobri & Kadir.

Mr. Abu Bakar Jais from Messrs. Zaid Ibrahim & Co.

11. 19th August 2002 Mr. A. Azizi Ismail, Ministry of Domestic Trade and Ms. Siti Eaisah Mohd, Tengku Sarafudin, Mr. Razif Shah Halim and Mr. Harme Mohamed from Malaysian Communications of Multimedia Commission (MCMC), PutraWorld Trade Centre (PWTC), Kuala Lumpur.

12. 13th September 2002 Dr. Ernest V. Devadason, Barrister and Solicitor from Perth, Australia.

13. 26th September 2002 Tan Sri LC. Vohrah, former Judge of the International Criminal Tribunal, The Hague.

14. 1st October 2002 Ms. Bharti Seth, Advocate and Solicitor, Kuala Lumpur.

26

15. 15th October 2002 Mr. Parviz Afshari, Minister Counsellor, Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

16. On 18th October 2002, 22 young diplomats who were attending a Diplomatic Training Course at the Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations in Kuala Lumpur visited RCAKL. They were accompanied by an official from the Institute, Mr. Ravichandran Moorthy. The Director gave them a briefing on the "Role and Functions of the Regional Centre for Arbitration Kuala Lumpur". The young diplomats were from Barbados, Bosnia, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Chile, Croatia, East Timor, Ethiopia, Fiji, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Laos, Libya, Mauritius, Myanmar, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Vietnam, Yemen and Zimbabwe. Their names are as follows:

Ms. Sarah Natalie Burke (Barbados)

Ms. Elma Bacvic (Bosnia)

Ms. Zoure Houssiyam Adeline Vivian (Burkina Faso)

Mr. Theam Vuth (Vietnam)

Mr. Sebastian Jaime Labra Grez (Chile)

Ms. Dunja Sicaja (Croatia)

Ms. Madalina Viegas Soares Filipe (East Timor)

Mr. Gebru Ambye (Ethiopia)

Mr. Peceli Tulele (Fiji)

Mr. Muhammad Iqbal (Indonesia)

Mr. Hussein Ali AI Rahman (Iraq)

Mr. Mohammad Shabib Abu-Wandi (Jordan)

Mr. Siriphonh Phyathep (Laos)

Mr. Muftah AI Hammali Ahmed (Libya)

Mr. M. Payendee (Mauritius)

Mr. Htoo Htoo Zaw (Myanmar)

27 Mr. Jean Paul Adam (Seychelles)

Ms. Hasanthi Dissanayake (Sri Lanka)

Ms. Vyantimala Ramratan (Suriname)

Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh Tuyet (Vietnam)

Mr. Adel Saif M. AI-Odini (Yemen)

Ms. Maria Tapfuma (Zimbabwe)

17. 31 st October 2002

Mr. Vu Xuan Phong, Vice President of the Vietnam International Arbitration Centre (VIAC) and Mr. Vu Anh Duong, VIAC.

Mr. Bounlome Bouandaoheung and Mr. Sisamouth Sayyavong from Lao P.D.R.

Mr. So Jong Mok and Mr. Yun Son Ho from the Korea International Trade Arbitration Committee, D.P.R. of Korea.

They visited RCAKL after attending the Advance Course in Kuala Lumpur.

18. 23rd December 2002

Professor Dr. Didik J. Rachbini from Mercu Buana University in Jakarta met with the Director at his office. Professor Rachbini was in Kuala Lumpur to organize an ASEAN Conference on Fair Competition Law and Policy in the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFT A). He was accompanied by Mr. Chilman Arisman from the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Kuala Lumpur.

28 Appendix STATISTICS OF INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATIONS

Centre Cases under Centre's Rules Centre as designated as Rentals Year appointing appointing Total (ad hoc) authority authority by PCA, The Hague Arbitration Conciliation/ Mediation 1986 1 0 0 0 0 1

1987 2 0 0 0 0 2

1988 1 0 1 0 1 3

1989 3 0 2 0 0 5

1990 6 0 1 0 1 8

1991 2 0 1 1 1 5

1992 1 0 2 0 1 4

1993 1 0 1 0 1 3

1994 1 0 4 1 2 8

1995 6 0 3 1 1 11

1996 5 0 1 0 0 6

1997 5 0 0 2 1 8

1998 8 0 3 3 1 15

1999 8 0 2 1 8 19

2000 10 0 3 4 2 19

2001 1 0 3 2 1 7

2002 2 0 3 0 2 7

Total 63 0 30 15 23 131

29

STATISTICS OF DOMESTIC ARBITRATIONS

Cases under Centre's Centre as Rules Rentals Year appointing Total (ad hoc) authority Conciliation/ Arbitration Mediation 1988 0 0 1 1 2 1989 2 0 2 0 4 1990 0 0 6 2 8 1991 2 0 1 4 7 1992 4 0 1 10 15 1993 6 0 4 14 24 1994 0 0 7 13 20 1995 1 0 4 10 15 1996 4 0 0 2 6 1997 4 0 7 9 21 1998 3 0 5 16 24 1999 4 0 10 20 34 2000 8 0 4 26 38 2001 7 0 11 10 28 2002 8 1 8 14 31

Total 53 1 71 151 277

30

IV. REGIONAL CENTRE FOR INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION, LAGOS

REPORT OF THE CENTRE’S ACTIVITIES 2002-2003

AN INTRODUCTION

I am pleased to state that the services of the Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration – Lagos within the Sub-Sahara region is increasingly requested by both Private and Public Sector oriented organizations as represented by various Chambers of Commerce from the different countries as well as Government Agencies.

The assistance sought usually involve ways of incorporating the Centre’s Model Arbitration Clause into such Commercial Agreements as may be drawn up between individuals companies and between companies and governments. This has involved the Nigerian governments and South African companies and also as between companies and governments in the ECOWAS Sub-region.

Settlement of Commercial disputes by Arbitration and other Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) methods within the Sub-region can be rightly described as having come of age.

1. Arbitrations Held At The Centre

A total of Eighteen (18) Domestic and two (2) International disputes were arbitrated at The Centre under Ad-hoc Arbitration Proceedings in the period of the past one-year.

The two international cases, employed the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules whilst the Eighteen (18) Domestic Arbitrations were settled under the Domestic Arbitration Act of Nigeria – Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN) 1988.

Resolution of Commercial Disputes at the Centre by other Alternative Disputes Resolution (ADR) methods such as Mediation and Conciliation increased from Seven (7) in 2001 to Fifteen (15) between 2002 and 2003. Of the Fifteen (15) matters settled by ADR methods, Four (4) were by Conciliation and Eleven (11) by Mediation. The disputes settled by Arbitration and other ADR methods arose from a wide range of sectors including Oil and Gas, Insurance Solid Minerals (revocation of exploitation licence) Agreements and Sale of Goods Contract, Banking Disputes and Trade and Labour Disputes.

31

2. PROMOTIONAL PROGRAMMES

Promotional Programmes for the sensitization of the sub-regionl on the need for International Arbitration to be encouraged as the preferred mode of Commercial Dispute Settlement, was aggressively pursued by the Centre; thus:

The Centre co-sponsored an International Seminar on International Energy and Mineral Arbitration with the Law firms of Chief G. O. Sodipo & Co. and Mayer Brown Rowe and Maw in London on 25th November 2002. In September 2002, the Centre held, on the invitation of the Bureau for Public Enterprise (BPE) a Workshop on – “International Commercial Arbitration, and its Role in the Privatization of Government owned Companies and shares”. Participants were drawn from the Cement Manufacturing Sector, the Hospitality Industry including Hotels and Catering Sector, Power and Steel Sector and Telecommunication Firms from South Africa, Cameroon, Republic of Benin and Kenya. On 8th January 2003, the Centre held a One-day International Workshop on “Charter Party Arbitration in the Aviation Industry” – in conjunction with the African Airlines Association. In attendance were participants from the Airlines of most African States. February 11th – 13th 2003, the Centre organized the first in a series of workshops on International Trade Arbitration in collaboration with the Shippers Council (CARGO DEFENCE FUND) of Nigeria. March 4th – 5th 2003, the Centre in conjunction with the Federal Ministry of Justice together with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) convened a Conference on:

“The Enforcement of Arbitral Awards under the New York Convention – The role of Domestic Courts”.

3. ACTIVITIES OF THE CENTRE

The Centre’s simulated Practical Mock Arbitration Training Sessions introduced for the benefit of newly certificated arbitrators examined under the training programme of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators United Kingdom (Nigeria Branch) has gained immense popularity as more newly certified arbitrators become involved in the program which features practical sessions in both Domestic and International Arbitration, under the supervision of renowned International Arbitrators, Mediators and Conciliators.

The on going cooperation between the Lagos Centre and some Universities within the sub-region incorporating the Centre in a the Joint Award of a Post-Graduate Diploma Certificate in International Arbitration authorized by the Educational systems in their various countries, is at once challenging and satisfactory.

32 The Centre’s facilities are utilized very frequently by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators – United Kingdom (Nigeria Branch), which holds most of its meeting and training courses and examinations leading to Associate Membership of the Institute at the Centre. The Centre has been approached by one of the Licensed Global system of Mobile (GSM) Telephone Operators in Nigeria to develop an Arbitration/Mediation Scheme on its behalf (relying on a provision in their License) to enable the company empanel a dispute resolution body with a view to the expeditious resolution of disputes arising as between they (the operators) and other Operators/Service providers and between them and their subscribers.

4. CO-OPERATION AGREEMENT

Courtesy calls were paid to the Lagos Business School and Ford Foundation in furtherance to the Centre’s aim of entering into co-operation agreement with various organizations in order to forge reciprocity in exchange of information and in collaboration of activities.

5. HOST GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

In the year 2002, the Centre enjoyed significant support from the host government i.e. The Federal Republic of Nigeria in that The Federal Executive Council (The Executive arm of Government’s final decision making body) approved:

i. The mandatory addition/inclusion of the Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration Lagos’ Model Arbitration Clause into all Federal Government contracts. ii. Ceding of a permanent office complex to the Centre at No.2A, Ozumba Mbadiwe street, Victoria Island Lagos.

6. UPGRADE OF INTERNATIONAL PANEL OF ARBITRATORS AND MEDIATORS

There was an extensive upgrade of the Center’s list of domestic and international arbitrators, mediators and conciliators to meet the increase in demand for the Centre to proffer names of reputable and experienced arbitrators for use by disputing parties.

7. ENQUIRIES/VISITS TO THE CENTRE

The Centre received quite a number of enquiries/visits from individuals, corporate organizations and institutions pertaining to the roles and functions of the Centre.

33