International Arbitration & Developing Countries

The Third TRAC-SCC joint event, titled “International Arbitration in Developing Countries”, was held on September 26, 2018 with participation of ambassadors and counselors of many Asian and European countries as well as Iranian and foreign lawyers, academics and practitioners. In addition to a number of solo speeches, the seminar composed of two challenging and demanding panels.

At the beginning, Dr.Oveis Rezvanian, the Director of Tehran Regional Arbitration Centre (TRAC) and Professor Kaj Hober, the Chairperson of the SCC Board, each greeted the audience with their welcome speeches.

In his speech, Dr. Rezvanian pointed out the key importance of selecting an arbitration institution in commercial transactions and added that still  there are  many companies  and  even lawyers  that  do not pay  sufficient  attention  to  the arbitration agreement.  According to Dr. Rezvanian, while  parties  bargain strictly on every  single clause of the  contract,  when it  comes  to  the  dispute resolution clause,  all  they do is  to  repeat  the  same  name  that  they have  in mind  as the arbitration  institution,  without  even  knowing the  reasoning behind that.  Rezvanian further reminded that during last years,  some  well-known arbitration institutions  either  stopped  to  provide  services to cases  related  to Iran,  or  made lots  of  problems  before  Iranian  parties,  only  because the  international  and  political  environment  was  “unfairly”  against  Iran. Many  cases  were in the  waiting  list  for a couple of  years  and  we all  know that “delayed  justice is  denied justice”.  According to Rezvanian, the  the seminar  was about  deliver  the message that let’s  start thinking  about  different  options  in  the forum, evaluate  the advantages  and disadvantages,  look  back  to  the history and background  of  the  institution, and then  make an  appropriate  selection among the existing institutions.

Rezvanian further suggested that local  and  small-scale business users  might  consider  regional  arbitration centers which many of  them  proved  to be reliable solutions.  Plus  they  are,  in most  cases,  more  efficient  than  some  big names  in  terms  of  time  and cost. Also  if  one is a large-scale business  user  with  truly international transactions  or it is –for  any  reason-  looking  for  an  institution other  than local  and regional  ones,  it should start  to get  familiar with arbitration institutions  with brilliant  reputation  which their history does  not  show any  sign  of misconduct  when  the  international  and political  weather  changes. 

Following the welcome speeches, Dr. Pedram Soltani, the vice president of Iran Chamber of Commerce, as the keynote speaker referred to the challenges of doing business in international scene. He, furthermore, emphasized onthe major role of international arbitration in settling commercial disputes. Dr. Soltani described the “arbitration” as a private and specialized method of dispute resolution which is much more efficient as opposed to litigation. Ultimately, he reiterated the fact that arbitration makes the disputes less dependent on the government-affiliated organizations but rather makes it a subject to a more independent method of private adjudication.

The solo speeches followed by the first panel, titled “western arbitration institution’s practice in Iran related cases: ongoing issue”. The panel was moderated by Dr. Mohammad Hossein Tavana,  with participation of Professor Kaj Hober, Dr. Moshkan Mashkourand Ms. Kristin Campbell-Willson as the panelists.

At the invitation of Dr. Tavana, Mr. Huber and Dr. Mashkur discussed the dispute resolution mechanisms with regard to arbitration institutions.

According to Dr. Mashkour,”the general principle in arbitration is the recognition of the parties’ freedom”. In this regard, he referred to article 454 of Iran Civil Procedure Code (CPC) and article 19(1) of Iran International Commercial Arbitration Law (ICAL).

Dr. Mashkour added “Iranian (whether companies or persons) may validly agree on referring their disputes to arbitral tribunals acting under the rules of Iranian or foreign arbitration institutions and having their seat inside or outside of Iran. On the other hand, foreign parties may have their disputes validly decided by an arbitral tribunal situated inside Iran. Dr. Mashkour further listed the difficulties arising from sanctions at the initial stages of arbitration, during the proceedings or after the hearings.He also proposed that parties can devise an alternative for these situations.For instance,parties can agree on other arbitration institutions with the following conditions: (i) If the Institution is unable or unwilling to set the arbitration in motion within 3 months from the time a request is made by either of the parties, in accordance with the Rules, or (ii) If the arbitral tribunal, once constituted is unable or unwilling to proceed in accordance with the applicable procedural timetable, or (iii) If the arbitration proceedings is interrupted for a period of more than 3 months; or (iv) If any hearing cannot take place; or (v) If no award is issued by the arbitral tribunal within a reasonable time following the conclusion of the hearings.”

Ms. Campbell Wilson, as the last speaker of the panel, initially discussed the subject of Businesses looking for an effective settlement of their disputes. The requirements for such resolutions are quickness, efficiency (proceedings and cost) and trust in the outcome in the sense of transparency and foreseeability. Ms. Campbell Wilson also pointed out the role of the SCC as a facilitator to international business and she said” founded in 1917, SCC ‌has a long history as a forum for arbitration. SSC is an impartial and independent institution and it is part of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC), with a Secretariat in Stockholm, International Board.”

After the first panel, in a special part of the event, Dr. Oveis Rezvanian, Director of TRAC introduced new Rules of Tehran Regional Arbitration Centre, and in particular, specified the new features of the Rules 2018 (Expedited Procedure and Emergency Arbitrator) by giving some practical examples.

The second panel, titled “practitioner’s Guide for Selecting the Best institution”, was moderated by Ms. Adinah Abghari and with participation of Dr. Mojtaba Kazazi, Dr. Mehrdad Nazemi and Mr. Sam Jalaei to share their views on this topic.

With Ms. Adineh Abghari’s initial speech on “how parties can select an appropriate institution in order to resolve their disputes”, Dr. Nazemi began his presentation and referred to essential criteria such as efficiency, time and cost as the main factors of selecting an institution. Ultimately While explaining about each one, Dr. Nazemi illustrated the geographic distribution of arbitration institutions over the world.

As the second speaker, Dr. Kazazi discussed the most important principles of arbitration and also referred to independence as the most critical criterion while selecting an arbitration institution.

Mr. Sam Jalaeias the last speaker of this panel mainly focused his speech on evaluating the Scandinavian institutions as an option for international dispute resolution.

Occluding remarks of the event was delivered by Dr. Mohsen Mohebi. He thanked the organizers of this professional seminar, and very precisely, evaluated the internal capacity of Arbitration in both countries, and emphasized that this capacity can and should be extended. He also referred to the considerable impact of the sanctions on the arbitration in Iran and the region and further proposed that the parties insert a local arbitration institutions clause in their contracts.

The seminar ended with lunch, allowing the attendees to network with each other.

PROGRAM DETAILS

8:30-9:00

Registration and Welcome Reception

9:00-09:15

Welcome Speeches

Dr. Oveis Rezvanian, Director of TRAC

Prof. Kaj Hobér, Chairperson of the SCC Board

9:15-9:30

Opening Remarks

Dr. Pedram Soltani, Vice President of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture

09:30-10:30

Western Arbitration Institutions’ Practice in Iran Related Cases: Ongoing Issues

Moderator: Dr. Mohammad H. Tavana

Prof. Kaj Hobér, Chairperson of the SCC Board

Dr. Moshkan Mashkour, Founding Partner of Sanglaj International Consultants

Ms. Kristin Campbell-Wilson, Deputy Secretary General of SCC

10:30-11:00

Break

11:00-11:45

TRAC Rules of 2018: New Features

Dr. Oveis Rezvanian, Director of TRAC

11:45-12:45

Practitioners’ Guide for Selecting Best Institution

Moderator: Ms. Adineh Abghari

Dr. Mojtaba Kazazi, Institut de Droit International

Mr. Sam Jalaei, Partner of Magnusson Law Firm

Dr. Mehrdad Nazemi, Founding Partner & Director of International Legal Services of Fanoos Law Office

12:45-13:00

Concluding Remarks

Dr. Mohsen Mohebi, Founding Partner of Dr. Mohebi & Associates Law Office

13:00-14:00

Lunch