The recently announced Arbitration Bill paves the way for Ireland to become an arbitration centre on the global stage, writes Colm Ó hOisín
ARBITRATION IS a form of dispute resolution where the parties agree to have their dispute determined by their own appointed arbitrators. In international commerce, arbitration is often the only practical means of dispute resolution.
Frequently, neither party wants to submit to the courts of the other side, particularly if that other party is a state or a state body. The decisions of arbitrators are also binding in almost every country. Surprisingly, a court decision may be less readily enforceable.
Earlier this month, the Bar Council hosted the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA) 2008 conference, attended by almost 800 delegates from over 51 countries.
It brought together a number of organisations including the Bar Council, the Law Society, Chambers Ireland, the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR) and the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators to work with the Irish Government to develop this area and the necessary facilities. Hosting the conference offered an unprecedented opportunity to promote Ireland as a centre for international arbitration.
The new Arbitration Bill which was announced by Taoiseach Brian Cowen at the opening of the conference and explained by the Attorney General, Paul Gallagher SC, during its working sessions, will have a major impact on arbitration in this country.
This Bill makes a number of changes to the law on arbitration in Ireland. In particular it makes improvements to the 1998 Arbitration Act which introduced an internationally recognised model law for all international commercial arbitration in Ireland. The new Bill also ensures that any recourse to court will be speedy and will avoid unnecessary costs. It also removes the possibility of court orders which might be unhelpful to the arbitral process such as orders for security for costs and discovery.
Significantly the new Bill also extends the model law to domestic arbitrations. Up to now it had been governed by an outdated law which was no longer in sync with modern procedures.
The Arbitration Bill is a very welcome development as it incorporates international best practice into Irish law. The new Bill is a very important positive step in establishing Ireland as an attractive option as a neutral third party country venue for international arbitration.
Many international arbitration disputes involve multi-million euro amounts. Choosing Ireland as the arbitration venue for these disputes is a vote of confidence in the quality of our government, business and legal structures. Ireland is a neutral, English-speaking venue which has a common law system and an evolving, strong legal framework which is attractive for dispute resolution. Hosting the arbitration of these disputes has many significant economic, legal and business tourism benefits.
Nearly 1,000 overseas companies have made Ireland their European base, in many sectors such as finance, information technology, pharmaceuticals and other services. We have a wide range of translation and stenography services, which are another advantage to our location.
The Irish Government is committed to developing this field of expertise and is taking a strong lead in the area. The courts also support and encourage arbitration. For example, the Commercial Court provides a fast track system for dealing with commercial litigation and can potentially be used in arbitration matters. The development of a purpose-built centre for arbitration and dispute resolution would further enhance our ability to attract this business. International best practice is to have such centres and, in order to compete with London, Paris and New York, Ireland must also offer similar facilities.
Ireland Inc as a brand has had worldwide success. Many leading Irish people have figured on the international economic and political stage and this helps attract people from overseas to Ireland. This business would greatly enhance our economic and legal standing. It would also encourage domestic alternative dispute methods, which can only be of benefit in repairing fractured business relationships.
Many sectors in the Irish economy are internationally focused and have made inroads into markets abroad. The Irish legal services community has been more domestically focused up to the present.
That situation is now changing. Dublin ICCA 2008 was the biggest international arbitration conference ever. It has generated significant goodwill to Ireland. This coupled with the new Arbitration Bill and the various initiatives prompted by the conference, should allow us to achieve the goal of establishing Ireland as a premier centre for international dispute resolution.
Colm Ó hOisín SC is chairman of the Bar Council Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee