London, 6th June 2024- King & Spalding and the International Arbitration and Mediation Center (‘IAMC’), Hyderabad hosted a session on Arbitration in India and the MENA Region: Roadmap to 2030 as part of London International Disputes Week 2024 (‘LIDW’) in the premises of King & Spalding’s new London office.
The event featured an address by Justice Hima Kohli, Judge, Supreme Court of India, followed by a panel discussion on ‘the future of arbitration in the burgeoning hubs of India and the MENA region’, featuring leading practitioners and representatives from key institutions in the regions.
Topics ranged from the procedural to substantive, including conundrums of reciprocity in recognition of judgments and awards, differing approaches to advocacy, the right choice of arbitral institutions and the continued centrality of construction disputes.
Speakers
Justice Hima Kohli — Judge, Supreme Court of India
Toby Landau KC – Duxton Hill Chambers
Amit Sibal SA — 3 Verulam Buildings
Dr Hamed Merah – Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration
Andrea Stauber – King & Spalding
Tariq Khan – IAMC
Moderated by: Shouvik Bhattacharya – King & Spalding
Members
King & Spalding International LLP
International Arbitration and Mediation Centre, Hyderabad
The conference started with Justice Hima Kohli’s address.
She said that “the arena of international arbitration is dynamic by its very nature.Its hallmark of flexibility allows it to develop, adapt and upgrade itself in response to the needs of its end users”
Talking about the abundant history of dispute resolution in the MENA region and India, she said “it is rooted in ancient and medieval practices, continues to be a vital part of our modern ADR landscape”.
She also remarked that in the “in the recent years, India has made significant strides in establishing itself as a reliable and trustworthy partner in arbitration services.”
She further said that “India’s dynamic economic and legal progress, in synergy with the MENA region, positions it as an emerging leader in global dispute resolution.”
Justice Hima Kohli said that “geographical and cultural proximity between India and MENA simplifies access to local legal expertise and imbues the arbitration process with invaluable region-specific insights.
She also added that “the shared heritage between India and MENA countries bolsters communication and mutual understanding, significantly enhancing the prospects for effective dispute resolution.
She concluded by encouraging everyone to work towards a future where arbitration is the cornerstone of dispute resolution, and said that “the efforts made today, will shape a more equitable and effective dispute resolution-landscape in the years to come.”
Panel discussion on ‘the future of arbitration in the burgeoning hubs of India and the MENA region’
Tony Landau talked about roadmap to India- Mena region. He said “over the coming years, the landscape looked like: 1. problematic due to investor state; climate change etc. 2. Even if countries are walking away from areas, they will have to abide by it due to treaties”
Talking about Model rules of procedure, Amit Sibal said that arbitrators both young and old can adopt the Model Rules and Courts can use them as a benchmark to assess how the arbitration should be conducted and all of that is bound to speed up the process of arbitration.
He also talked about Arbitration Bar of India.
He further said that “speedy enforcement will promote arbitration and will up the Courts to deal with non-arbitration matters”
He pointed out that enforcement of awards still takes too long.
He further remarked that “speedy enforcement will promote arbitration as a mode of dispute resolution and free up the courts to deal with non-arbitrable matters of dispute”
He concluded by saying that if we are to succeed in our plan in the road map to 2030 it has to be a mindset among the bar and the bench to facilitate enable promote arbitration and not allow avenues to obstruct.
Andrea Stauber said that “construction disputes always feature heavily in arbitration, and its not anything new or different, the reason that everyone is talking about it this week and every arbitration week now is because of the immense volume of construction that’s happening across the MENA region”
Dr Hamed Merah said that “ADR in general in comparison is new to MENA region but lot of work has been done to change the landscape in MENA region”.
He also talked about vision 2030 goals and said that “the most important achievement of 2030 is the change of the people, the change of the mindset. He added that the most important shipment of 2030 could take the best out of everyone in the Kingdom
Tariq Khan said that “IAMC is currently administering disputes of about $800 million dollars and catering to the entire of the state of Telangana for real estate regulatory authority disputes and this we are doing pro bono service to the State”
He further mentioned about what institutions will be doing so far as bridging the gap between India and MENA region.
He also said that “India and MENA have a long way to go, and they are the emerging hubs of arbitration and by 2030 we will be the hub of arbitration”
The post appeared first on .