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The forthcoming International
Dispute Resolution Conference (IDRC) is expected
to support Malaysia in becoming a maritime
dispute resolution hub.
Organised by the Malaysia branch of the
Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, the
conference will be held on Oct 20 and 21 in
Kuala Lumpur.
IDRC will be attended by leading minds on
dispute resolution from all over the world.
Organising chairman Sitpah Selvaratnam said the
conference would be relevant to Malaysia,
particularly as the global trend now was seeking
fresh approaches to resolve disputes.
“Malaysia has an active maritime industry, with
extensive international commercial relations.
“Maritime disputes are inevitable. With changing
times, business entities no longer have to
accept the “non-negotiable” term that stipulated
all maritime disputes must be resolved by
English Courts, or by arbitration in London,”
she told StarBiz.
The importance given to mediation, expert
determination and arbitration elsewhere in the
world is expanding.
Against this change, efforts at promoting
Malaysia for maritime dispute resolution are not
only timely, but likely to bear fruit sooner
than expected if pursued relentlessly.
According to Sitpah, the proposals for
amendments to the Arbitration Act 2005 that
would allow courts in Malaysia to arrest ships
as security in aid of domestic and international
arbitrations had been well received by the
Attorney General’s Chambers.
“Anticipation is high that the amendments will
become part of the laws of the country by
year-end.
“These maritime laws on arrest for arbitration
will make Malaysia ‘arbitration friendly’ to
maritime claimants, and place its ship arrest
laws on par with favoured jurisdictions of the
region, such as Singapore and Hong Kong,” she
said.
Sitpah added that moves to adopt structured
mediation in Malaysia would ease the dispute
resolution load currently laden in Malaysian
courts.
“This will also shift mindsets away from using
disputes as a means of delaying obligations, and
instead, help businesses to focus on the
constructive aspects to efficiently resolve
issues,” she said, adding that the Prime
Minister was scheduled to officiate at the IDRC
event.
Sitpah said the conference, with the theme
Making the Right Choice, would present the
perfect opportunity to understand the
intricacies of the various mechanisms of
disputes resolution.
“It is paramount to effective dispute
resolution, which has a significant impact on a
company’s financial bottom line, that parties
choose wisely their preferred mode of settling
differences at the time they enter into a
contract.
“And later, they appoint an expert as arbitrator
or mediator to resolve their various issues,”
she said.
Sitpah added that the dispute resolution term in
a contract should no longer be the last clause
at the last page of the contract that parties
accepted without second thoughts just to
conclude a deal.
“It could come back to haunt them,” she said.
IDRC is organized in conjunction with the
bi-annual Congress of the Chartered Institute of
Arbitrators, held for the first time in Malaysia
in its 93-year history.
Issues related to oil and gas, maritime,
construction, intellectual property and Islamic
banking will be deliberated. |
