Publish time: Fri Mar 31 10:43:04 CST 2017
On the afternoon of March 27 2017, the Inaugural Conference of China-Africa Joint Arbitration Centre – Beijing (CAJAC BEIJING) and China-Africa Joint Arbitration Centre – Nairobi (CAJAC NAIROBI) & Symposium on Dispute Resolution of Sino-African Infrastructure Construction Project was successfully hosted in Beijing. With the guidance and coordination of the China Law Society, the Beijing Arbitration Commission / Beijing International Arbitration Center (the “BAC”) and the Nairobi Centre for International Arbitration (the “NCIA”) formally founded the CAJAC BEIJING and the CAJAC NAIROBI.
The establishment of the CAJAC BEIJING and the CAJAC NAIROBI are important measures in building the Sino-African joint dispute resolution mechanism. Based on the platform of the CAJAC, the BAC and the NCIA will work together with each other and provide Chinese and African commercial entities with more qualified and efficient dispute resolution services, and thereby assist with the trade communication and economic development between China and African countries.
The event received strong support from the China International Contractors Association. Leaders from the China Law Society, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, the Shanghai International Arbitration Center, the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa and the China Africa Business Council, in-house counsels of a number of large enterprises, lawyers and scholars attended this conference.
The Inaugural Conference of CAJAC BEIJING and CAJAC NAIROBI was moderated by Dr. Chen Fuyong, Deputy Secretary General of the BAC. Mr. Zhang Mingqi, Vice Chairman of the China Law Society, Mr. Lin Zhiwei, Secretary General of the BAC, and Mr. Arthur Igeria, Chairperson of the NCIA, delivered opening speeches respectively.
On behalf of the China Law Society, Mr. Zhang Mingqi expressed sincere congratulations on the powerful combination between the BAC and the NCIA as well as the growth and expansion of the CAJAC. Mr. Zhang said that it is a cornerstone of China’s foreign policies to develop the cooperation with African countries, and the establishment of the CAJAC is an inevitable requirement for the upgrade of the Sino-African economic and trade cooperation, and a significant pillar for the promotion of the Sino-African legal cooperation. He hoped that the CAJAC could lay a solid foundation, play its special advantages, be rooted in Africa and serve globally, wining its own world within the international arbitration community.
Mr. Zhang Mingqi
Mr. Lin Zhiwei addressed on behalf of the BAC. Firstly, he delivered thanks to the China Law Society, the NCIA, the China International Contractors Association and all the attendees, and welcomes to the foreign guests who have come a long way from Africa. Mr. Lin said that under the background of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Africa Agenda 2063, the economic, trade and investment cooperation between China and Africa would go further, and it became a great topic of reality as to how the potential disputes in connection with the Sino-African economic and trade cooperation could be effectively resolved and thereby to promote such cooperation. The BAC as a leading dispute resolution institution in the Asia and Pacific region has, with the coordination and guidance of the China Law Society, reached cooperation intention with the NCIA, and the establishment of the CAJAC will further strengthen the foundation of the Sino-African legal cooperation. The BAC will work closely with the NCIA to build the CAJAC-BEIJING and the CAJAC-NAIROBI into an arbitration institution providing qualified, efficient and professional dispute resolution services to commercial entities engaged in the Sino-African trade and investment.
Mr. Lin Zhiwei
Mr. Arthur Igeria spoke on behalf of the NCIA. He expressed that China and Kenya established diplomatic relations in 1963, and since then Kenya had enjoyed increases in trade year by year and frequent communication between Chinese and Kenyan people. Mombasa, as the second largest city of Kenya and a trade port, is a freight transfer station for overseas cargoes entering Africa, and thus is very important to the Sino-African economic and trade relationship. The NCIA is equipped with refined arbitration rules, as well as support from local authorities and trust from African enterprises, and therefore it looks forward to promoting the development of arbitration based on the CAJAC in the future and providing Chinese and African clients with a reliable dispute resolution platform.
Mr. Arthur Igeria
Dr. Chen Fuyong
The opening speeches were followed by the signing and inauguration ceremony. Mr. Lin Zhiwei and Mr. Lawrence Muiruri Ngugi, CEO of the NCIA, signed the Cooperation Agreement on Establishment of Sino-African Joint Dispute Resolution Mechanism between Beijing Arbitration Commission / Beijing International Arbitration Center and Nairobi Centre for International Arbitration on behalf of the BAC and the NCIA, respectively, and then jointly unveiled the nameplate of CAJAC-BEIJING and CAJAC-NAIROBI. Mr. Zhang Mingqi, Vice Chairman of the China Law Society, Mr. Gu Zhaomin, Director of PR Dept. of the China Law Society, Mr. Arthur Igeria, Chairperson of the board of the NCIA, Mr. Xin Xiuming, Vice Chairman of the China International Contractors Association, Mr. Huang Wen, Deputy Secretary General of the Shanghai International Arbitration Centre, and Adv. M D Kuper SC, President of the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa all witnessed the signing and inaugurating ceremony.
Mr. Lin Zhiwei and Mr. Lawrence Muiruri Ngugi signed the Cooperation Agreement
 |
 |
|
Inauguration ceremony of CAJAC-BEIJING and CAJAC-NAIROBI |
|
Next to the inaugural ceremony, the event came into the symposium on dispute resolution of Sino-African infrastructure construction project. The symposium was moderated by Mr. Cui Jun, President of Beijing Overseas Junhe Construction Consultation Co., Ltd. The discussion covered two topics, the first one was the Sino-African infrastructure construction cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative and analysis and prevention of African legal risks. Mr. Xin Xiuming, Vice Chairman of the China International Contractors Association, Adv. M D Kuper SC, President of the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa, Mr. Lawrence Muiruri Ngugi, CEO of the NCIA, and Ms. Yang Limei, Senior Manager of China State Construction Engineering Corporation, presented risks facing Chinese enterprises in their investment of infrastructure projects in South Africa and Kenya and corresponding solutions from different angles.
 |
 |
|
Mr. Cui Jun |
Mr. Xin Xiuming |
 |
 |
|
Adv. M D Kuper SC |
Mr. Lawrence Muiruri Ngugi |
 |
|
|
Ms. Yang Limei |
|
The second topic was the Sino-African infrastructure commercial arbitration experience and suggestions. Mr. Yu Tengqun, Board Secretary and General Counsel of China Railway Group Limited, Ms. Barbara Kilei, Legal Counsel of the NCIA, and Ms. Lindi Grace Nkosi Thomas, Senior Director of the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa, shared their experience and suggestions related to commercial arbitration of Sino-African infrastructure disputes based on both Chinese and African practice.
 |
|
|
Mr. Yu Tengqun |
|
 |
 |
|
Ms. Barbara Kilei |
Ms. Lindi Grace Nkosi Thomas |
The symposium was followed by a Q&A session, where the audience exchanged opinions with speakers on issues related to the Sino-African infrastructure construction.
The last session of the event was the closing remarks of Mr. Gu Zhaomin, Director of PR Dept. of the China Law Society. Mr. Gu firstly congratulated on the establishment of the CAJAC-BEIJING and the CAJAC-NAIROBI. He said that ever since the presentation of the CAJAC idea in 2012, the China Law Society has organized expert demonstration for many times, and finally founded the CAJAC-Johannesburg in coordination with the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa in 2015, looking forward to uniting Chinese and African arbitration institutions in this way and creating international dispute resolution rules to the benefit of developing countries. For many years, the China Law Society has been endeavoring to promote the Sino-African legal cooperation, to build the platform for exchange between the Chinese and the African legal circles, and to promote the Sino-African cooperation and development, so as to contribute to the realization of the Chinese dream.
At last, the event came to a successful end in the warm applause of the attendees.
Group photo
As an important arbitration institution within the Asia and Pacific region, the BAC has endeavored to provide clients with qualified dispute resolution services and to promote the development of the Chinese diversified dispute resolution industry. The establishment of the CAJAC-BEIJING will create a larger platform for realizing the prospect of building the BAC into a world-class diversified dispute resolution center. The BAC welcomes colleagues from different circles to continue to pay attention to the diversified dispute resolution industry and to actively attend various events organized by the BAC. You are also welcome to pay attention to BAC’s website and WeChat platform for more information.