Publish time: Wed May 24 18:19:37 CST 2017 Contributor:Ouya Chu
Jointly released by the KLRCA, the CRCICA and the BAC/BIAC.
On May 9 2017, the Founding Conference of the “Belt and Road Arbitration Initiative” launched by the Beijing Arbitration Commission /Beijing International Arbitration Center (the “BAC/BIAC”) jointly with the Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration (the “KLRCA”) and the Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (the “CRCICA”) was successfully hosted in the BAC/BIAC International Conference Hall. The establishment of the Initiative signified the substantive development of the connection between dispute resolution platforms represented by commercial arbitration with the steady execution of the “Belt and Road” strategy of China. Meanwhile, the Symposium on Investment Environment and Dispute Resolution in Malaysia and Egypt, countries along the Belt and Road route, was successfully held next to the Founding Conference.
The event
In fact, since the “Belt and Road” was initiated as a national strategy, there have been more than 60 countries joining the initiative along the route so far, with an overall investment of over 500 billion USD. During this process, commercial disputes arose from trade and investment. In light of the huge divergence lying in the political systems, legal frameworks and investment environments of the different countries and regions, as well as the issues such as state sovereignty and overseas enforcement, international litigation is usually incapable of meeting the requirement for resolving those regional trade disputes under this strategy. Hence the diversified dispute resolution mechanism represented by commercial arbitration becomes a necessity for the development of the “Belt and Road” initiative, with a growing influence on international commercial arbitration as well.
China has been endeavored to promote the “Belt and Road” initiative with the principle of joint construction, and the same with the connection of dispute resolution means such as commercial arbitration. On the ground of the extensive experience accumulated in its internationalization and dispute resolution practice, the BAC/BIAC has actively sought to build dispute resolution service platform networks cross multi-regions, and thereby provided corresponding services to national strategies as far as possible. It is under this background that the “Belt and Road Arbitration Initiative” is produced.
The Founding Conference was moderated by Dr. Chen Fuyong, Deputy Secretary General of the BAC/BIAC. Mr. Lin Zhiwei, Secretary General of the BAC/BIAC, Dr. Sundra Rajoo, Director of the KLRCA, and Dr. Ismail Selim, Director of the CRCICA, delivered opening addresses, respectively.
Dr. Chen Fuyong
Mr. Lin Zhiwei firstly expressed warm welcome to all the audience on behalf of the BAC/BIAC. He then described the direction and vision of the future development of the “Belt and Road Arbitration Initiative”: to “strengthen the interaction and exchange between arbitration institutions”, to “promote the multilevel sharing system of intellectual resources, case management and hardware facilities”, and to “compose uniform arbitration rules and panel of arbitrators in due time, and ultimately even to jointly build an independent dispute resolution platform”. In this process, other arbitration institutions are warmly welcomed to join in this Initiative, so as to enable the Initiative to provide commercial entities within the region with a qualified and efficient dispute resolution mechanism and legal security framework for investment and transaction, to promote the economic growth and cooperation among countries within the region, and finally to bring benefits to people of all over the world.
Mr. Lin Zhiwei
Next, Dr. Datuk Sundra Rajoo, representative of the KLRCA as a co-initiator, reviewed the establishment background and origin of the “Belt and Road Arbitration Initiative”: the KLRCA started to promote the “Belt and Road” project, with a background that the United States dropped out of the TPP, and given the current situation, Asia means larger space and opportunity for Malaysia’s development and value. The “Belt and Road” initiative has fully played China’s important role in Asia and all over the world. New infrastructure, new investment relationship and new development measures have all made new progress under this background. In his speech, Dr. Datuk Sundra Rajoo also shared his excitement brought by the “Belt and Road” construction and designing, because “it not only brings many physical investment and construction, but also many other developments, such as dispute resolution. It is a day of historical value today for the three arbitration institutions to co-work on this ‘Belt and Road Arbitration Initiative’. On the one hand, all the three countries are ancient nations and great seats for trade, and on the other hand, the cooperative arbitration alliance can bring the countries along the route from the discussion stage into a new stage of joint construction”. “The joint work of the three arbitration institutions will become a profoundly significant measure from now on. With regard to the system requirement of dispute resolution, we do not need to seek guidance and assistance from London, from the United States, from the west, since we are in our own world at the moment, and the world is right before our eyes and at our feet, and so we only need to get our job well done and to keep the dominant power over dispute resolution here”.
Dr. Datuk Sundra Rajoo
Dr. Ismail Selim, Director of the CRCICA, reviews his special fondness for China, and stressed the responsibility and value the CRCICA should have in the “Belt and Road Arbitration Initiative”. “Egypt is my mother who gave me my life, and China is also my mother who gave me my education”. 29 years after his leaving China, Dr. Ismail Selim came to this land again. As he said, “I will come to China often, and will go to Malaysia often, to make sure Chinese and Malaysian people better understand us”. When introducing his arbitration institution, he said that both the CRCICA and the KLRCA were local institutions built under African and Asian laws respectively in order to break the monopoly of western arbitration, and have been running well. China is a giant, and Malaysia is a tiger. The CRCICA, independent from the government, looks forward to providing complete and full dispute resolution services to more investment and transactions under the background of the “Belt and Road” initiative, and ultimately will achieve a win-win outcome for the countries along the Belt and Road route.
Dr. Ismail Selim
Following the opening address, Mr. Lin Zhiwei, Dr. Datuk Sundra Rajoo and Dr. Ismail Selim signed the B&R Arbitration Initiative Cooperation Agreement on behalf of their respective institutions. Mr. Dato Quek Ngee Meng, Director of the Malaysia-China Business Council, Mr. Lam Wai Loon, Partner of Harold and Lam Partnership, Mr. Khaled Attiya, former Director of the Egyptian Competition Authority, Mr. Liu Jingdong, the Deputy Chief Judge of the Fourth Civil Tribunal of Supreme Court of China, Ms. Zhang Wei, Vice-President of the Beijing Lawyers Association, Mr. Lu Song, Professor of the Foreign Affairs University, Mr. Cui Jun, President of Beijing Overseas Junhe Construction Consultation Co., Ltd., and Dr. Chen Fuyong witnessed the signing ceremony. Hence the “Belt and Road Arbitration Initiative” was formally founded.
Signing ceremony
Following the Founding Ceremony, Mr. Liu Jingdong, the Deputy Chief Judge of the Fourth Civil Tribunal of Supreme Court of China, Ms. Zhang Wei, Vice-President of the Beijing Lawyers Association, shared their opinions on “Development and Challenge of Belt and Road Arbitration Initiative: Joint Promotion of ‘Belt and Road’ Commercial Dispute Resolution Mechanism”, with Prof. Lu Song acting as the moderator and commentator. Mr. Liu Jingdong started from the SPC’s practice of judicial review of arbitration, and clarified the scope of the Chinese courts’ judicial review over commercial arbitration, which “requires judges to widen the definition of foreign related case”, “to actively take the opportunity of the New York Convention, and to adopt a tolerant approach in interpreting of arbitration clauses”, and “to strictly limit the intervention of public policy to clearly exclude the governmental disturbance of arbitration”. As commented by Mr. Liu Jingdong, “Today’s China is the largest economy of the world, we are also a huge engine of the global economy. With more and more Chinese enterprises on their way of internationalization, the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative will further promote our connection with the outside world. Thus international arbitration is destined to have larger space of development, and arbitration practitioners will enjoy a broadened market”.
Thereafter, Ms. Zhang Wei shared her understanding about the “Belt and Road Arbitration Initiative” centered on the functions of lawyers and lawyers’ associations in the “Belt and Road” initiative. She thought that the boost of significant national strategies demands for the rule of law. Lawyers specializing in foreign related legal services should firstly well act as advisor for policy making, and meanwhile become guarantor for the infrastructure construction, as well as the promoter of investment and trade cooperation and legal service provider for finance. Under the strategic background of the “Belt and Road” initiative, lawyers specializing in foreign related legal services are facing a huge challenge along with opportunities. It is reasonable to believe that the “Belt and Road Arbitration Initiative” will provide a new platform to lawyers specialized in foreign related matters for extensive exchange and development. As commented by Prof. Lu Song, “the event today hosted by the three arbitration institution is truly important, and is bound to be a perfect impetus for training arbitration professionals not only from the three countries, but also from all Asian and all developing countries”.
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Panel Discussion on Development and Challenge of “Belt and Road Arbitration Initiative” |
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Thereafter, the conference came to the next half part, namely the Symposium on Investment Environment and Dispute Resolution in Malaysia and Egypt. The symposium was moderated by Mr. Cui Jun, Chairman of the Board of Eminent Consultants Limited. Two issues were discussed in the symposium. Firstly, Dr. Datuk Sundra Rajoo, Mr. Dato Quek Ngee Meng and Mr. Lam Wai Loon introduced the status quo of Malaysian commercial arbitration and investment environment, where Dr. Datuk Sundra Rajoo shared the vision of commercial arbitration’s development and cooperation from the angle of “Belt and Road” initiative, Mr. Dato Quek Ngee Meng presented the great achievements Malaysia has harvested in trade, infrastructure, logistics and shipping under the “Belt and Road” background, and Mr. Lam Wai Loon interpreted the fundamental laws and commercial arbitration system of Malaysia from the perspective of a lawyer. Secondly, Dr. Khaled Attiya and Dr. Ismail Selim presented an introduction of the staus quo of the Egyptian commercial arbitration and investment environment. Dr. Khaled Attiya made a detailed introduction to the audience about the situation in Egypt focusing on the Egyptian constitution’s influence on investment, recent economic development and legal change in Egypt as well as the investment opportunities and challenges of Egypt. Dr. Ismail Selim then carefully introduced Egyptian laws and local courts’ support to commercial arbitration, and meanwhile shared his views on hot issues in international arbitration such as the seat of arbitration.
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Symposium on Investment Environment and Dispute Resolution in Malaysia |
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| Symposium on Investment Environment and Dispute Resolution in Egypt | |
At the end of the event, Mr. Liu Zhengang, Director of the Legal Affairs Office of Beijing Municipal Government, delivered the closing speech. Mr. Liu Zhengang firstly gave sincere congratulations on the event. “It is beyond any doubt that the ‘Belt and Road Arbitration Initiative’ founded today has fully conformed with and further developed the spirit of silk road: disputes are unavoidable in international economic and trading exchanges, and yet disputes must not bring in negative results, since the resolution of disputes is a process of value judgment exchange and combination, and also a process of strengthening mutual understanding between the parties concerned”. On behalf of the Legal Affairs Office of Beijing Municipal Government, Mr. Liu Zhengang warmly welcomed suggestions on Beijing’s arbitration legal framework and legal environment, looking forward to joint discussion and further perfection thereof, aiming to “build Beijing into a model seat of arbitration under the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative and an effective support to the Initiative”. As commented by Mr. Liu Zhengang in his speech, “Beijing in May is sunny and beautiful, decorated with luxuriant vegetation. The launch of the ‘Belt and Road Arbitration Initiative’, as well as the discussion on the opportunities and challenges of the Initiative that we have today, is exactly like planting a vigorous sapling in a proper season, and we have sufficient reasons to believe that with careful cultivation of the three arbitration institutions based in Kuala Lumpur, Cairo and Beijing, this sapling is bound to flourish and become fruitful in the near future.”
Mr. Liu Zhengang
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| KLRCA presented souvenirs to BAC/BIAC and CRCICA | |
In the warm applause of the audience, the event came to a successful end. In the subsequent Cocktail Reception, the hosts and the guests continued to have further discussion on the opportunities and the great potentials of China and the world under the “Belt and Road” background.
Group photo
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Cocktail Reception |
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